Harry Potter and the Story of Independence (Rewrite)
by Android 101
Summary: At a young age, Harry meets a snake who opens his eyes to the world of magic and helps him to become what he should have been. However, young Harry learns the truth of the betrayal by those he should be able to trust, turning him into a dark shade of himself. Can the influence of a young red-haired girl save him from the darkness in his heart? JKR owns Harry Potter, not me.
1. Chapter 1: The Truth Revealed

A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay, but I've been a little preoccupied with some life stuff and then I've been going over and over again about how to better my original story. Hopefully, I'll be able to address certain issues that reviewers and myself have raised. As for the addition of my new OC, Sabrina, she will pretty much be Harry's logical conscious and will have a similar role to Shade in my original story, except without any offensive role. Anyway, enjoy the first chapter of my newly rewritten Story of Independence. Note: JKR owns all of the Harry Potter characters, not me. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 1: The Truth Revealed

Harry Potter woke up this morning to the regular routine of his Aunt Petunia ordering him to wake up and make breakfast and his cousin, Dudley, jumping on the stairs to cover him in sawdust. What only he remembered was that today was his seventh birthday. His aunt had only told him that July 31st was his birthday so that they knew how old he was, but it was never a celebration of his life like Dudley's birthday was. He, unlike Dudley, got no presents and was given even more chores to do than normal as his Uncle Vernon said that he should 'pull his weight' for being 'cared' by them for another year.

After making breakfast for the Dursleys, Harry was given his long list of chores to do before his uncle went to work and his aunt took Dudley out for the day as it was the weekend. He had been doing the Dursleys' chores ever since he was able to walk and talk and was beaten whenever he failed to do them correctly, such as when he dropped the bacon the first time they made him cook their breakfast. He was also beaten whenever he did better than Dudley at school as they accused him of cheating.

What the Dursleys wouldn't admit was that Harry was a young prodigy and had a photographic memory. Most of the teachers never did understand why he went from that to being the lowest scoring student in the class, but they never asked. If they did, they would've realised that he deliberately failed to avoid the harsh beatings from his uncle as it meant that Dudley was at least not the dumbest student, which he actually was but the Dursleys would never accept this even when the teachers expressed concerns.

Therefore, we find Harry starting his chores by weeding the garden. After finishing that half an hour later, with cut hands due to the Dursleys not giving him the luxury of gloves, he was about to go inside to do the housework when he heard rustling and hissing coming from one of the bushes to his right. As he went to inspect it further, a snake came out and raised its head up, staring at him. The snake had shining, pure black scales and piercing green eyes. He moved back slightly out of shock and cautiousness. Eventually, the snake actually spoke in a near regal, feminine voice.

 _~Do not be afraid, young one. I mean you no harm~_ the snake stated.

 _~Wait! How can I hear you?! Snakes don't talk!~_ Harry exclaimed.

 _~You can hear me as you are a speaker, hence why you can respond to me~_ the snake replied.

 _~What do you mean? What's a speaker?~_ Harry asked.

 _~A speaker is a magical being who can understand and speak the language of the serpents. Your kind call our language 'Parseltongue', I believe~_ the snake answered.

This threw Harry for a loop now. 'Magical beings'? But his uncle told him that magic wasn't real! Everyone did! In fact, the mere mention of magic enraged the Dursleys, so he avoided the subject entirely. This had to be some sort of joke to get him into trouble. Well, he wouldn't fall for it.

 _~'Magical being'? You can't be serious. Magic isn't real. I bet this is all a big joke. Ha ha, very funny Dudley! You can come out now and bring that voice mixer with you! I'm no fool!~_ Harry said, not believing what he was hearing.

 _~And who told you that? Your relatives? The very same people who hate your existence and beat you? I can assure you that this is no joke. I have been watching you for many months now, Harry Potter, and have been appalled by what I have seen. If my mother's witch was here, she would've killed them~_ the snake hissed angrily.

Harry merely stared at the snake and closed his eyes. He must be hallucinating, that's it. He was that tired of the Dursleys that he was having hallucinations of a talking snake because he wanted a friend for once.

"This is just a hallucination. Snakes don't talk. Magic isn't real. I'm not falling for this, neither will I go mad because of my relatives," Harry whispered to himself.

Sabrina shook her head in despair. These muggles had truly wronged him if he didn't believe her. By the looks of it, he seemed to be thinking that she was merely a hallucination by the way he closed his eyes and started to rub them like he was trying to get rid of something. Time for plan B.

 _~Tell me, Harry...did you ever make anything happen when you were angry or scared? Did you at anytime close your eyes before something bad was about to happen to you and then you opened them to find yourself somewhere else without your knowledge?~_ Sabrina asked.

Harry thought about this and remembered when he was five years old and Dudley had cornered him at school. When Dudley was about to hit him and he closed his eyes, he opened them to find himself on the school roof and Dudley had punched the wall. This was the first time that he had mentioned magic and Vernon had gone ballistic, beating him up and throwing him into the cupboard under the stairs where he slept while profusely stating that magic was not real.

Harry put two and two together and finally realised why his relatives feared him and anything related to magic. It was real, and they were scared in case he learned how to use it.

 _~So...it's all real? It just seems so surreal...Hang on, why would your mother's witch kill the Dursleys? More to the point; how do you know my name?~_ Harry clarified.

 _~You really don't know anything, do you?~_ the snake asked incredulously.

Harry shook his head for two reasons. The first was in answer to the definitely real female snake's voiced question as he had no idea what it meant. The second was for thinking that the Dursleys were smart or capable enough to pull off such a prank. Certainly Dudley wasn't. Plus, they would never mention magic or his name without a flinch afterwards, so it was impossible for it to be so smooth if they were trying to prank him. He saw the snake shake her head in response, proving that she truly understood him and could respond to him for sure.

 _~Then I shall tell you. Many years ago, a war began between light and dark wizards and witches. The dark side was led by a self-titled Lord named Voldemort. He was equal to the power that the leader of the light, Albus Dumbledore, had at the beginning, but his power only grew the more he decimated his enemies. It got to a stage where too many innocents were being killed by Voldemort and his allies, the Death Eaters. They were dark times...my mother and her witch didn't survive, just as your parents didn't...~_ the snake explained.

 _~I'm sorry...it sounds horrible...~_ Harry replied respectfully.

 _~It was horrible. Everyone was either afraid of Voldemort, hence why most people still fear his name to this day, or died if they fought against him. Eventually, something happened when he went after you and your parents. He killed your mother and father, yet you somehow survived the killing curse. No-one has ever done that. Your parents loved you enough to sacrifice themselves for you after fighting against the Dark Lord's oppression. They were heroes, unlike what your relatives say. In the Wizarding World, you are famous as 'the Boy-Who-Lived' as you were able to finally rid him from this world. However, I fear that he is not truly gone. With all of the dark rituals that he did to increase his power, I wouldn't be surprised if he found a way to prevent himself from being killed by a rebounded curse~_ the snake explained.

 _~So that's what happened? I always knew that the Dursleys had to be lying when they said that my parents died in a car crash and were drunk layabouts. But, if he really isn't gone, then what can I do if he comes back to get me? I can't fight him!~_ Harry responded, frightened at what he had heard.

 _~We need to get you prepared. You need to be trained...now! A great wrong was done upon you by being sent here as it has stunted your growth. Everyone will expect a noble, heroic boy with the finest clothes and manners, but instead they will get a petite, fragile one. We must change this. I can see that something is not right and we need to figure it out~_ the snake answered firmly.

 _~But how am I supposed to train with the Dursleys around? I would be beaten if I even show any signs of magic or try to escape!~_ Harry exclaimed.

 _~I know what to do. Go out onto the street and wish for the Knight Bus to appear. Trust me...~_ the snake replied.

Harry nodded and picked his new serpentine friend up and allowed her to slither into his sleeve as he did as she instructed. After closing his eyes and wishing for the Knight Bus to appear, all of a sudden a purple triple-decker bus faded into view before coming to a screeching halt next to him. He couldn't believe it. It really worked. As he stared at the bus in awe, the attendant appeared and spoke to him, giving a customary greeting.

"Hello and welcome to the Knight Bus; travel for any stranded witch or wizard. Where do you need to go, sir?" the attendant said politely.

 _~Ask for the Leaky Cauldron~_ the snake instructed.

"The Leaky Cauldron," Harry answered.

The attendant nodded, gave Harry a ticket, then allowed him onto the bus as it sped off towards his destination. On the bus, he realised something that he quite rudely had forgotten to ask his new friend.

 _~I'm sorry that I never asked before, but what's your name?~_ Harry asked in a hushed voice so that the attendant didn't hear him, remembering what his friend said about the prejudice of speakers.

 _~My name is Sabrina, thank you for asking. Since that it finally out of the way, will you bond with me and let me be your familiar? I have sensed your latent power and know what you have been through, so I want to help you to be the best that you can~_ Sabrina asked hesitantly, as if she expected to be rejected by him.

Harry remembered reading some books on myths, legends and folklore and encountered the concept of a witch's familiar from these. A familiar was there to help the witch with their endeavours and was their most trusted companion. They could even feel each other's emotions. Due to the trust that he had for Sabrina, he wouldn't refuse to have her as he familiar as she was already helping him so much.

 _~Of course I'll bond with you. You're my friend, aren't you? And friends are supposed to help each other, right?~_ Harry responded.

Sabrina smiled heartily, or at least Harry thought that he saw a possible smile, before rubbing his arm affectionately. Apologising in advance, she carefully pricked his arm with her fangs and injected a tiny amount of venom into his bloodstream. However, instead of causing any harm like venom usually would, it merely washed over him and made him feel stronger and healthier. Due to her intentions, Sabrina had been able to make her venom heal him, rather than harm him, and bond with him. The bond between the two of them was confirmed when she saw the marks on his arm heal almost instantaneously.

When the bond was confirmed, Sabrina wrapped herself around Harry's arm to keep herself hidden and comfortable. Eventually, they reached their destination and got off the bus before entering the pub. Sneaking around the walls of the pub, which was fortunately filled with mainly muggles, Sabrina told Harry to go around the back and knock on a certain order of bricks in the wall, which then moved aside to allow him to enter Diagon Alley for the first time.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that guys and think that giving some further backstory of Harry's life before he turns 11 was ok. I'll be uploading the next four chapters as well as they're also finished, so stay tuned. Bye guys.


	2. Chapter 2: Inheritance and Power

**A/N: Thanks to it being pointed out by a reviewer, I have edited this chapter to have the canon year of the Potter attack in 1981 as I had gotten my years mixed up and wrote it as happening in 1980 by mistake as I tried to go back from Harry's age instead of just going by official sources like I should have done. Anyway, enjoy the updated chapter.**

Chapter 2: Inheritance and Power

Harry looked down Diagon Alley with an awed expression on his face as he saw all of the witches and wizards looking in the shops. However, they had business to attend to here, so sight-seeing could come later.

 _~So, where should we go first?~_ Harry asked.

 _~We need to head to Gringotts Bank at the far end of the street to get some money and to check your inheritance. I warn you that the employees there are goblins. They aren't very keen on wizards, but they seemed to like my mother's witch and the Potters apparently, so as long as you are polite to them, they will be to you~_ Sabrina answered.

 _~Alright. Gringotts and goblins, check, but what about my inheritance? Did my parents have a lot of money or something?~_ Harry enquired.

 _~Oh, you don't know the half of it. Come along, Harry. We don't have time to dawdle~_ Sabrina replied cheekily.

Harry walked through the busy street of Diagon Alley and went into Gringotts. He was in awe of the interior architecture, but was shuck out of this as he saw all of the goblins staring at him. He went up to the desk at the end of the hallway and spoke to the goblin at the desk who didn't seem to notice him.

"Umm, excuse me?" Harry asked, trying to get the goblin's attention.

"Yes, young wizard? What is your business here?" the goblin responded emotionlessly.

"Umm, well, I would like to withdraw some money and check my inheritance, please?" Harry asked politely.

"Name?" the goblin asked bluntly.

"Harry Potter," Harry replied hesitantly.

The goblin then did a double take and began to look him over before his eyes widened. The goblin then went back through the door to the back of him and was inside for many minutes, making Harry and Sabrina uncomfortable. Eventually, the goblin reappeared with a determined look on his face.

"Mr Potter, come in the back with me. The Director wishes to speak with you," the goblin said, gesturing for Harry to follow him.

Harry did as the goblin said and followed him into the backroom where he saw even more doors leading off in all directions. The goblin led him through many doors before finally gesturing to a door that had a golden plaque on it. Written on the plaque was 'Director Ragnorork'. He entered the room and saw a large desk with a golden chair behind it where the Director was sitting.

"Ah, Mr Potter. Please, come and take a seat. Fortunately, due to the wards I have placed on my door, I know that it is the real you this time. I have been waiting for you to finally arrive," Ragnorork greeted.

"Thank you, sir, but what do you mean by that? Have people been coming in pretending to be me before? And why have you been waiting for me?" Harry asked carefully.

"Yes, they have. My wards prevent anyone trying to trick me from entering and it would therefore remove any items or potions that would change anyone's appearance. Since the wards never flared up, I know that you are who you say you are. As to your other question; we have sent you many letters about checking your accounts and we wondering why you never replied," Ragnorork replied with a raised eyebrow.

 _~I told you something wasn't right! You've never received anything! Someone's been intercepting those letters!~_ Sabrina hissed angrily.

"Sir...I've never received any letters from Gringotts. It was only by accident that I've just found out about the Wizarding World..." Harry explained hesitantly.

"You mean that your magical guardian never told you about our world or your inheritance?!" Ragnorork asked, fuming at this turn of events.

Harry leaned back at Ragnorork's angry tone in fear of being hurt by angering the goblin.

"I didn't know that I had a magical guardian. Please don't hurt me. I never intended to offend you," Harry responded fearfully.

"It is not you who has offended me, Mr Potter, but we can discuss this strange paranoia that you have later. It is your guardian who has offended me and your parents. A magical guardian of someone of your stature should've told you about your inheritance as soon as you were old enough to walk, talk and understand people. The fact that you have also never received a letter from us is even more troubling, especially with the number of withdrawals over the years that your guardian has taken from your family's vault with him saying that you have authorised everything. Dumbledore has a lot to answer for..." Ragnorork explained.

 _~Dumbledore is your magical guardian?! And he's been illegally withdrawing money from your vault and blocking your mail?! This is bad, Harry! Really bad! Remember when I mentioned Dumbledore?! He has a lot of power in the Wizarding World! You need to be extra careful now, more than ever, if Dumbledore's now plotting against you!~_ Sabrina exclaimed worriedly.

"What can be done about that? I haven't authorised anything or even been in the Wizarding World until now...but I wish that I hadn't now when people are already trying to take more from me..." Harry mused sadly.

Ragnorork looked at the young Potter Heir and knew that the poor boy had been betrayed badly. The Potters had always treated the goblins well and to see their son like this did not make the Director happy. It seemed as though the Potter's will need to be read first. However, Dumbledore had sealed it, saying that Harry wouldn't be ready until he was 'old enough to understand'. Ragnorork thought that after everything he had been through, the boy was 'old enough' now. It was unfortunate that he could only claim his Lordship when he turned eleven though, or this could be sorted out quickly.

"Don't worry, Mr Potter, I will deal with it personally. I knew that I should never have listened to Dumbledore. We need to perform an inheritance test first, then we can proceed from there. Follow me, Mr Potter," Ragnorork explained, going into another room behind him.

Harry followed Ragnorork as they walked up to a large basin. It was filled to the brim with a clear liquid that seemed to glow even without any light illuminating it.

"Now then, Mr Potter. What I need you to do is take this knife and make a small cut on your hand and let a drop of blood fall into the basin. The wound will instantly heal and we shall see just which houses you are the heir to and what has been happening with your accounts," Ragnorork explained.

Harry did as instructed and cut his hand to allow his blood to drop into the centre of the basin. Ragnorork was right when he said that the wound would heal up straight away. As soon as the cut healed, details appeared in the basin about Harry's accounts. It read:

 _Harry James Potter_

 _Son of James Charles Potter (deceased) and Lily Rose Evans-Potter (deceased)_

 _Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter_

 _Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black_

 _Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Peverell_

 _Heir of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor_

 _Total Wealth: 100 Billion Galleons_

 _Wealth Increase Rate: 10% per year_

 _Properties Owned: Potter Manor, Castle Peverell, Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow_

 _Businesses Owned: Daily Prophet (75%), Flourish and Blotts (55%) and Grunnings (50%)_

 _No Betrothal Contracts_

 _Magical Power Level: 53,849_

 _Magical Abilities:_

 _Aptitude for Shadow Magic (training required)_

 _Aptitude for Soul Magic (training required)_

 _Aptitude for Chaos Magic (training required)_

 _Aptitude for Elemental Magic (training required)_

 _Aptitude for Wandless Magic (training required)_

 _Aptitude for Wordless Magic (training required)_

 _Natural Occlumens-Blocked by Albus Dumbledore on 31_ _st_ _October 1981_

 _Natural Legilimens-Blocked by Albus Dumbledore on 31_ _st_ _October 1981_

 _Parselmouth_

 _Animagus-Form Unknown_

 _Other notes:_

 _Power Blocks placed by Albus Dumbledore on 31_ _st_ _October 1981_

 _Strength Blocks placed by Albus Dumbledore on 31_ _st_ _October 1981_

 _Growth Blocks placed by Albus Dumbledore on 31_ _st_ _October 1981_

 _Horcrux implanted by Tom Marvolo Riddle on 31_ _st_ _October 1981_

 _Once all are removed; Magical Power Level will be doubled_

Harry, Sabrina and Ragnorork were in total shock at what they had read. Harry was shocked over his inheritance and abilities, while Sabrina and Ragnorork were shocked and angered by what Dumbledore had done to Harry.

"I can't believe this! How did he think that he would get away with this?! To place some many blocks on the core of a high-class heir is inconceivable! And for your power to still be so high?! This is impossible!" Ragnorork exclaimed.

"What do you mean, sir?" Harry asked, shaking himself of his shock.

"Your power level is already higher than most witches and wizards, but if we can remove the blocks and double your power...you'll be the most powerful wizard in history!" Ragnorork explained.

"But...that can't be right! I'm nothing special, so how can I be so powerful?" Harry asked, not believing this at all.

"Merlin had the highest recorded level until now at 99,000. Dumbledore's is 89,572, while You-Know-Who had a level of 89,000. When your level is doubled to your full potential, it will be 107,698! It would appear, according to the blocks on your core, that Dumbledore may have feared your power and tried to lessen the threat to him. We were always weary of that old fool, but now...we have reason to be worried about every one of his motives," Ragnorork explained.

Harry and Sabrina were both in thought at this. They would need to be very careful around the esteemed headmaster when he goes to Hogwarts now. However, the first thing on their list was to remove the blocks and this horcrux that was reducing his power.

"Is there a way to remove those blocks and the horcrux? In fact, what is a horcrux?" Harry enquired.

"We can get our curse breakers to remove them without a problem, but the horcrux will be difficult. You see, a horcrux is some of the darkest forms of magic possible. To create one is to commit the biggest crime against nature; the murder of an innocent. If someone commits murder, they split their soul. If someone wishes to, they can kill another and split their soul, placing it into an item to contain it, allowing them to survive death and be temporarily immortal. However, once the horcrux is destroyed, they will be mortal again and have their power depleted due to having lost part of their soul from this earth. To remove one from an inanimate object; it's simple, but to remove one from a living person...it will be extremely painful and may even kill the person as well. You must be absolutely sure and determined before you agree to have the horcrux removed as we cannot guarantee your survival," Ragnorork explained sadly.

Harry and Sabrina were both disgusted at what they had heard about horcruxes. However, Harry knew that this meant that Voldemort, or rather Tom Riddle, still lived on and would return. There was no doubt in his mind. He had to get the blocks on his core and the horcrux removed to help to stop Voldemort and Dumbledore's plans. With his decision made, he steeled his expression and spoke clearly with conviction.

"I want to have the blocks on my core and the horcrux removed," Harry said without hesitation.

Ragnorork nodded respectfully and made calls for his curse breakers to come over. Sabrina was both shocked at Harry's conviction and scared for him. She didn't want him to die after everything that happened. She wanted him to live the life that he deserved. She could only hope that he would come out of this alive, and therefore even more power than before.


	3. Chapter 3: Core Restored

A/N: JKR owns the characters of Harry Potter, not me. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 3: Core Restored

A while later, the Gringotts curse breakers arrived and took Harry into the ritual chamber with Ragnorork. They laid him down on the table in the middle of the room and slowly began to work on removing everything that was stunting his growth and power. The blocks were easily removed as the curse breakers were quite proficient in doing this. However, the horcrux removal was going to be difficult, so Ragnorork asked Harry one last time to be sure.

"Now, you are absolutely sure about this Mr Potter? Once they begin, it cannot be stopped. The ritual must continue until it's complete. This is your last chance to turn back. Your core has been unblocked, but remember that the horcrux will not be easy," Ragnorork reminded Harry.

"I'm sure. I don't want anything holding me back. Let's finish what we started," Harry replied.

Ragnorork nodded and gestured for the curse breakers to proceed. At first, Harry didn't feel anything as the curse breakers made complicated patterns with their wands and spoke words that he didn't understand. However, that soon changed as he felt an agonising pain stem from his scar as the soul of Voldemort attempted to stay put inside of him.

Soon, Harry blacked out and woke up to find himself in a strange room that was nearly empty apart from bits and pieces thrown about. As he wandered around for a while, he started to wonder where he was and how to get back to Gringotts.

"Where am I?" Harry asked himself aloud.

"In your mindscape, boy," a voice answered menacingly.

Harry spun around and saw a shadowy figure behind him who was getting closer by the second.

"Who are you?! Did you bring me here?!" Harry asked angrily, feeling darkness emanating from the figure.

"Hahaha! Foolish boy...Yes, I did bring you here, for I am Lord Voldemort. Did you truly think that it would be that easy to get rid of me? I'm afraid that I am not going anywhere. I will not have my immortality denied by some pathetic child!" Voldemort answered, revealing his form.

"Well I don't fancy sharing my mind with a murderous psychopath, so we're both at a stalemate, aren't we?" Harry countered.

"You flatter me, Potter. However, trying to be funny won't save you this time. I will not be denied and you will back down or I will destroy you and take control to finish off what I started!" Voldemort retorted menacingly.

"I won't let you control me! You won't win this time!" Harry shouted back.

"We shall see, boy..." Voldemort snarled before he made his first strike.

Voldemort lunged forward and grabbed Harry by the neck before throwing him across the room. He hit the wall hard and fell to a heap on the floor as he felt that his arm had been broken upon impact.

"You're nothing compared to me. You're just a weak, pathetic child who wants mummy and daddy to cuddle him and look after him. Well guess what, Potter...they're never coming back! I will kill you just as I killed them, then take your body to use to make my dreams a reality and finally bring the Wizarding World to its rightful place above the filthy muggles! I will reign supreme! But I won't forget your sacrifice. If you just surrender, I will remember you as the one to give me the opportunity to continue my work. You would be a hero for nobly giving your life for your Lord. So, what do you say, Harry?" Voldemort gloated with a smug grin.

"Go to Hell, Voldemort! I'd never help you!" Harry responded angrily.

"Then so be it...Prepare to die, Harry Potter!" Voldemort growled before lunging forward again.

Harry rose up to meet his attacker, steeling himself for his death as he closed his eyes. However, he realised something just before Voldemort struck. This was his mindscape, not Voldemort's. He had control here. With that revelation, he opened his eyes once more to see Voldemort trying to grab him, but being stopped by an invisible barrier.

"What is this?! Why can't I touch you?!" Voldemort questioned angrily.

"You forgot one important thing...This is my mindscape! You don't control this place; I do! Now be gone from my sight you monster!" Harry replied triumphantly.

Harry pulled his fist back and threw it at Voldemort's face, punching the Dark Lord square in the jaw and knocking him flying across the room as strength flowed through him for the first time in years. The Dark Lord hit the wall with a deafening bang as he exploded into dust that slowly faded away. At last, Harry's mind and body was free of all of the negative influences of Voldemort and Dumbledore.

Eventually, Harry woke back up in the ritual chamber of Gringotts to see Sabrina and Ragnorork above him as they tried to wake him up.

"Mr Potter! You're awake!" Ragnorork exclaimed.

 _~Harry! You're ok! We were so worried about you! You just started screaming and blacked out! We didn't know whether you were going to wake up! I'm so glad that you're alright, my Harry!~_ Sabrina exclaimed in joy as she rubbed up against his cheek affectionately.

 _~Well, I'm back now. Voldemort's gone from my mind. I'm free at last~_ Harry replied.

Sabrina seemed to smile before wrapping herself back around Harry's arm, getting herself cosy once again.

"You're familiar seemed especially worried about you as she's been trying to wake you up for the last half an hour. Either way, the rituals were successful and your mind and core are now free of the horcrux and blocks. You'll need time to recover but after tonight, you should find that your core will have healed itself and allowed your body to grow to what it should be. We expect great things from you, Mr Potter," Ragnorork explained.

"Thank you for your help, sir. For all of your help," Harry said, looking at the curse breakers as well before they nodded and left.

"Now then, Mr Potter. If you are up for it, there is still the matter of your Lordships. Unfortunately, you cannot claim the Potter or Peverell Lordships until your eleventh birthday. The Black Lordship will only be available when your godfather passes away. You may take the heir rings for Potter and Peverell now, then claim your Lordships after your birthday and you come to buy your school supplies. Does that sound reasonable?" Ragnorork explained.

"I think that I'll take the heir rings. However, I want to keep everything quiet until I return and talk to you in private. I have a feeling that if the information were to get out too soon, we would have uninvited attention from a certain old man," Harry responded with a hint of anger at mentioning Dumbledore.

"I agree. Come with me then," Ragnorork replied.

Ragnorork led Harry back to his office and presented him with the Potter and Peverell heir rings. He then placed the rings on his right ring finger and they glowed for a second, indicating that they accepted him as the rightful heir.

"Magic has accepted you, Mr Potter. Yes...I can see that you will do many great things. I believe that our business here is concluded for today, yes? Unless you wished to draw some money out from your trust fund for buying anything while you're in Diagon Alley?" Ragnorork asked.

Sabrina looked up at Harry with a thoughtful expression and gave him a suggestion that agreed with what he was currently thinking about.

 _~I think that you should draw some money out and we can try and find some books in Flourish and Blotts to start learning the basics and understand your abilities, Harry~_ Sabrina suggested.

 _~I was just thinking about that, so I agree with your suggestion. I want to be prepared for what I'm going to be facing from both Voldemort and Dumbledore when I enter Hogwarts for the first time~_ Harry replied.

"Yes, sir, I would like to draw some money out. There are some things that I wish to purchase to better understand my situation and abilities," Harry answered Ragnorork.

"Certainly, Mr Potter. You can draw up to 1000 galleons per day from your trust fund. Will that be enough for your purchases?" Ragnorork asked.

"That would be plenty, sir," Harry responded.

"I'll make sure that your request is seen to, Mr Potter," Ragnorork said, calling one of the workers in to deal with Harry's request.

Once Harry was given his galleons, he said goodbye to Ragnorork and thanked him for his help. After exiting Gringotts, Sabrina pointed Harry in the direction of Flourish and Blotts and they entered the shop. After finding some books on his abilities, Harry paid for them and left the shop and Diagon Alley entirely.

Heading back to Privet Drive on the Knight Bus, Harry started to worry about what would happen when he saw the Dursleys. Vernon would surely be angry at his chores not being done and would likely get violent, but he didn't know whether he'd be able to call his magic forward to defend himself due to his inexperience, even with his core unbound.

 _~I can tell what's worrying you, my Harry, and don't. If you can't drive the Dursleys off, then I can. All you have to do is say "Engorgio" and aim at me and I'll grow larger. That should scare them off until you can get some experience and you can defend yourself~_ Sabrina said, answering Harry's mental dilemma.

Harry smiled at his familiar and his mood instantly improved as his expression changed from worried and scared to determined. It was time to get control of his life at long last. After getting off the Knight Bus, he quietly entered the Dursleys' house and tried to head upstairs to the spare room before anything could happen. Unfortunately, it seemed as though his relatives had been waiting for him.

"Boy! Get your freakish backside in here now!" Vernon bellowed from the kitchen.

Steeling himself, Harry put his books on the stairs walked into the kitchen to see Vernon, Petunia and Dudley sitting and the table staring angrily at him, with Dudley grinning in delight at the thought of Harry getting punished.

"I thought that I told you to get the housework and garden done today, boy?! What have you been doing that you considered more important than your duties in this house?!" Vernon asked, going nearly red-faced in anger.

Normally, Harry would've instantly backed down and cowered in the corner at Vernon's booming voice, but not today. Today, he learned the truth and all of the feelings of loss, hurt, pain and anger came flooding into his mind as he listened to Vernon's rant.

"Finding the truth, Uncle," Harry replied heatedly, not letting his uncle's tone affect him.

"What the devil do you mean by 'the truth'?!" Vernon enquired in annoyance.

"How about we start with my parents lives before they died? What were they, Aunt?" Harry asked pointedly, staring angrily at Petunia and making her step back slightly as Harry's aura unconsciously flared.

"We already told you that they were unemployed drunks who lived off of the earnings of decent working folk, boy! Now shut up about this foolishness and-!" Vernon answered angrily before he was cut off by Harry.

"You lying rat! How dare you speak about them like that after what they sacrificed for your miserable hide!" Harry growled.

"Wh-what?" Petunia asked in shock.

"Did you think that I would never find out? Do you know where I was? I went to Diagon Alley. I know everything," Harry retorted, inwardly grinning at the Dursleys' flabbergasted looks.

"B-but, how?!" Petunia squeaked.

"Why should I tell you anything? For all these years, you have lied to me and treated me like a slave because I was different to you. Well, that all ends now. I won't be a victim of your deceit and madness any longer!" Harry answered.

"Why you little! How dare you speak to us like that! You're not our better! You freaks are the mad ones, not us! I'll teach you some respect and discipline if it's the last thing I do!" Vernon bellowed in rage as he rose to attack Harry.

Expecting this, Harry side-stepped Vernon. With his core unbound, his strength and agility had also grown to the level that they should've been, which allowed him to easily dodge the larger man's flailing attacks. Eventually, Harry punched Vernon in the stomach and winded him. While the punch wasn't exactly technical, Harry's new raw strength made up for it as Vernon fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.

"I will no longer be under your thumb, Uncle. You are no better than Voldemort, only that you hate all magical people instead of 'normal' people as you call yourselves. My parents risked their lives for you and this is how you repaid them. I wasn't even supposed to be sent here, but Hogwarts' esteemed headmaster ignored my parents' wishes in their will. However, looks like it wasn't all for nothing after all. Maybe you should start doing your own chores for a change. I have things to do and don't try to stop me. Goodbye, Dursleys," Harry explained.

With that, Harry exited the kitchen, as Petunia and Dudley checked on Vernon, and picked his books up before deciding to head outside instead and read as it would lead to more confrontations. He spent the remainder of the afternoon reading about and testing his abilities. He seemed to make some progress, but Sabrina assured him that he would get better with practice as this was the first time that he had attempted to use magic consciously. When he went back into the house, he noticed that the Dursleys had already gone to bed. He went over and opened the cupboard under the stairs and looked inside.

This had been the place where Harry had slept for all these long years. His knight models were arranged neatly on the shelves and his miniscule amount of clothing was hung up in front of the bed. Sighing to himself, Harry took the bed cover off, closed the door and went into the lounge. After everything that had happened, he couldn't bring himself to sleep in that bed anymore. It was a chapter of his life that he now needed to put behind him and move on from. Putting the covers over him, he drifted off to sleep on the couch with Sabrina as they began to think and dream about what would come next on their journey.

A/N: Hey guys. Hope that this chapter was alright and you liked it. The next chapter will be Sabrina's backstory and will explain some more about how she got to Harry and why she went to him in the first place.


	4. Chapter 4: Sabrina's Lament

A/N: JKR owns the characters of Harry Potter, not me. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 4: Sabrina's Lament

Sabrina slithered through the grass as she watched her Harry practicing his martial art skills. She had been watching over him and guiding him for years now and it would soon be time for his eleventh birthday and for his Hogwarts letter to arrive.

After finally standing up to the Dursleys, Harry would study magic in the garden and practice in the woods. He soon got a good grasp of performing basic spells after a few weeks and was able to apply that confident and knowledge to more complex spells, allowing him to learn them faster.

Harry also started to take lessons in karate and judo to work on his physique, fitness and defence against physical attacks. This was a good choice as he soon had Dudley and his gang try to beat him up for revenge after that day, but he was able to finally defend himself and take Dudley down, which made the other boys run off after seeing their leader get beaten.

As the years went by, Harry grew to be just taller and more muscular than other boys his age thanks to having the blocks removed and his continued physical activities. Sabrina was proud at the progress that he had made and was confident that he would take the Wizarding World by storm when he returned.

However, thinking about the Wizarding World also made Sabrina worried for Harry. Already, he had been betrayed by those in power who should've done better. It was people like that who allowed the war to continue for so long. It was people like that who allowed her mother and her bond partner to die.

Sabrina still held fond memories of her time with her mother and her bond partner. Her mother was called Ruby and her bond partner was called Alice and helped to look after her when she was younger. Alice would make sure that she was well fed with the best food like her mother and would take her everywhere. In those few years, everything was good...until the war started.

The war destroyed countless families and homes, leaving many in fear of dying or losing their loved ones. Alice was a muggle-born, so she was even more at risk as she was considered to have inferior blood by Lord Voldemort and his death eaters. Eventually, Alice, Sabrina and her mother were found by a group of death eaters scouring the area.

They tried to fire the killing curse at Alice, but she fortunately dodged it. Ruby then struck at one of the death eaters, poisoning him with her venom for attacked her partner. Unfortunately, the other man saw this and quickly fired a killing curse, ending Ruby's life before she could even turn her head.

With tears in her eyes, Alice told Sabrina to get away from there now and never look back. Choking back her grief, she slithered away as Alice fought the remaining death eater as the bitten one was slowly dying from Ruby's venom. Unfortunately, Sabrina looked back one last time to see a green light engulf Alice's body as she fell down dead. At this, Sabrina went as far away from her home as possible in case she was found by the death eaters. She had no-one left; alone in the wild.

Sabrina barely managed to survive for the first few years as she fed off of small rodents that just happened to scurry past her. Eventually, she felt a surge of magic and felt a wave of calm and hope flow over her. She knew that she needed to find the source of the magic as she knew that it signalled the end of the darkness surrounding the world and she somehow knew that she could help the person who sent out the surge.

Eventually, Sabrina made it to Privet Drive and found Harry, but knew that the time would not be right to reveal herself yet as he was too young at only about two or three years old. She kept a close eye on him as the years past and was always ready to strike at his relatives for their abuse. However, she knew that by doing so, she might lose him by either his or her death at the hands of those nefarious people as she was not strong enough to poison them as badly as she wanted to. His magic would fortunately protect and heal him from any permanent damage until he was seven when she finally made her move, and she was glad that she did as her wait had paid off for him. He was stronger than ever before and would become even stronger as time would go on. Not even adults would be stronger than him once his formal magical education started.

Yes, at long last, the world would be bathed in light again as long as her Harry was able to stop the darkness. The only thing that worried Sabrina was the glimpses of his own inner darkness that had emerged ever since that day in Diagon Alley. She could only hope that he would not allow his anger to control him, or everything they had worked so hard to accomplish would be for nothing.

As Sabrina thought about the future, Harry finished his exercises for the day and headed over to her. He got concerned when she didn't seem to notice his presence, so he decided to pick her up to get her attention.

 _~Hey, Sabrina. What's wrong? You looked pensive there~_ Harry asked.

 _~Just thinking about the future and how Hogwarts is going to have a shock when you walk in~_ Sabrina answered with a sly grin.

 _~Yes, it shall be interesting to see the professors and students reaction to me, especially Dumbledore. I can't wait to teach him a lesson he won't forget~_ Harry said with a determined look in his eyes.

 _~Just don't go too far, my Harry. Don't stoop down to his level~_ Sabrina warned Harry.

 _~I won't. I just want to make sure that he knows that he doesn't control me as he thinks he does~_ Harry replied.

And with that, Harry and Sabrina went back inside the house and up to the bathroom. After he got showered and dressed, he sat in his room to contemplate his next move. After the incident all those years ago when his core was unbound, the Dursleys gave him Dudley's second bedroom and kept mostly away from him. This allowed him to train and think in peace.

Yes, Harry's letter would arrive soon and he expected someone to deliver it and make sure to make Dumbledore out to be the 'Greatest Wizard Alive' or something along those lines. However, Harry would be ready and had no problems with playing this game for now. Hogwarts itself would be a different story, however. Soon, he started to yawn as the day turned to night and he went to sleep with Sabrina curled around his arm as she too dropped off to sleep. The time to make his move will soon come, and he needed to be prepared.

A/N: I hope that this chapter cleared some thing up about Sabrina. If not, then ask me any questions in the reviews and I'll reply with an answer if I can. The next chapter will go through the Diagon Alley portion with Hagrid and will complete Harry's life before Hogwarts, so stay tuned.


	5. Chapter 5: Eleven At Last

A/N: JKR owns the characters of Harry Potter, not me. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 5: Eleven At Last

After a good night's rest, Harry finally woke up and saw the date on his clock, making him grin from ear to ear. Today was July 31st. His birthday had come at last. He put his slippers on and raced downstairs to find the expected letter in the pile of post on the floor by the door. Going back upstairs, he opened the letter and read it in the privacy of his room. After finishing it, the doorbell rang and he heard his aunt open the door.

Eventually, shouting came from downstairs, so Harry decided to investigate and found his aunt screaming at a giant of a man with a long, dark beard to go with his height. The man soon saw Harry and smiled widely.

"Blimely, I haven' seen you since you were a baby, 'Arry! Merlin's beard, you've grown! I take it tha' you got your letter then?" the man exclaimed.

"Yes. I take it that you are from Hogwarts, am I right?" Harry responded cautiously.

"Righ' you are! Rubeus 'Agrid; Keeper of Keys and Grounds at 'Ogwarts. Bet you know all about 'Ogwarts, righ'?" Hagrid replied.

"Not everything, no, but enough to know what it entails," Harry answered, slightly shocking Hagrid.

"W-well now, you best get ready! Need to get your school supplies!" Hagrid exclaimed.

"Excellent. I'll be down soon," Harry replied before heading back upstairs to get showered and dressed.

It didn't take Harry long to get ready, but he stayed upstairs longer to discuss this turn of events with Sabrina.

 _~Hmm...So Dumbledore's sent one of his lackeys to take me to Diagon Alley, huh? He seems to be a nice man, but if he starts mentioning Dumbledore and how great he is-~_ Harry stated before being cut off by Sabrina.

 _~Then you'll get annoyed, I know. What interested me was that he seemed shocked that you knew of Hogwarts and, to that extent, magic. It was almost as if-~_ Sabrina commented.

 _~He expected me to be clueless. Obviously, Dumbledore told him not to expect me to know anything at all, so that fact that I know what Hogwarts is probably threw him. Dumbledore's plans are slowly falling apart. I have no doubt that he's going to try something when I enter Hogwarts. We can't afford to lower our guard~_ Harry explained.

 _~Right. Anyway, we best head downstairs before this Hagrid fellow gets suspicious. Come on, Harry~_ Sabrina said as she wrapped herself around his sleeve-covered arm to hide herself from Hagrid's eyes.

Harry went back downstairs and left with Hagrid as they went to the nearest station and took a train into London. Eventually, they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron and went inside. Unfortunately, Harry wouldn't be able to sneak through this time, so he braced himself for the eventful crowd of people wanting to meet him.

"Ah, Hagrid! Usual alright with you?" the barkeeper asked.

"No thanks, Tom, I'm on official 'Ogwarts business. Just 'Elpin' young 'Arry here buy 'is school supplies," Hagrid answered.

'Here we go...' Harry thought with annoyance.

"Well bless my soul...It's Harry Potter!" Tom exclaimed, causing everyone else in the pub to look over at Harry.

Harry was soon surrounded by multiple witches and wizards wanting to shake his hand and introduce themselves. However, no-one seemed problematic until he met one man.

"H-H-Harry P-P-P-Potter! C-can't tell you h-how pleased, I am to m-meet you!" the man stammered.

"'Ello Professor, I didn' see you there! 'Arry, this is Professor Quirrell. 'E'll be your Defence Agains' the Dark Arts teacher at 'Ogwarts!" Hagrid explained.

Harry looked at Quirrell and instantly felt a dark aura radiating from him. He had a bad feeling as soon as he saw the man. No-one could stutter so badly and the way he stuttered at all screamed; "Fake!" It seemed awfully familiar too. He may have had the horcrux in his head destroyed, but the apparent trace of and link to Voldemort was still there, and he could sense Voldemort's presence in Quirrell. Something was going to happen this year. Quirrell would need to be watched to see what Voldemort's plans were. Harry had to be ready to stop him when the time came. Steeling himself, Harry put his hand out to shake to keep up his appearances.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor," Harry said politely.

"T-terribly f-fascinating subject...N-not that you need it e-eh, P-Potter?" Quirrell stuttered.

"I suppose so, yes," Harry retorted, inwardly grinning at the shocked, yet slightly irritated look in Quirrell's eyes at that retort.

"Anyway, we best be moving off. Lots to buy after all. See you back at 'Ogwarts, Professor," Hagrid finally said.

"Goodbye...Professor," Harry said, stopping himself from showing any signs of knowing who was behind the professor's mask as he followed Hagrid out to the back of the pub.

"Seems that I was more famous than I thought..." Harry muttered out loud.

"What do you mean 'more famous'? Do you already know why you are?" Hagrid said shocked.

'Looks like another thing that Dumbledore thought that I wouldn't know about,' Harry thought.

"Well, I know the truth about my parent's deaths, but I didn't think that I'd be the only one they seem to care about. Why not say that they're sorry about my parents and how great they were too?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure if I'm the right person to tell you that, Harry," Hagrid said as he knocked his umbrella on the brick wall in the pattern to take them to Diagon Alley.

Soon, the bricks parted and Harry saw Diagon Alley again after so many years.

"Welcome, Harry...to Diagon Alley!" Hagrid exclaimed, once again showing what little knowledge Dumbledore had about what Harry knew.

Hagrid took Harry down the street and explained what all of the shops sold, which only made Harry roll his eyes in annoyance. Fortunately, Hagrid never caught the eye-rolling. Eventually, the two stopped in front of Gringotts as Hagrid told Harry about how it was the wizarding bank and that they needed to get money to get his supplies. They entered the bank and went to the desk at the end of the hall where Hagrid addressed the goblin there.

"Mr Harry Potter wishes to make a withdrawal," Hagrid stated.

The goblin looked over to Harry, who subtly winked at him to play dumb for now. The goblin understood, as all hands had been informed of the situation, and nodded before steeling his features again.

"And does Mr Harry Potter have his key?" the goblin asked.

"Wai' a minute. Got i' in 'ere somewhere..." Hagrid said as he looked through his pockets for the key, "Ah! 'Ere's the little devil! And there's something else as well. It concerns you-know-wha' in vaul' you-know-which."

"Very well," the goblin eventually said as he got one of the vault goblins to take them to the requested vaults.

Before Harry left, however, he gave the goblin a message to give to the manager.

"Tell Ragnorork that I will come back later to finish off my business from all those years ago once I get away from Hagrid," Harry asked.

"Of course, Mr Potter," the goblin replied with a nod.

"Thank you, sir," Harry said respectfully before he ran to catch up to Hagrid.

Soon, Harry found himself hurtling through the bowels of Gringotts again and was getting used to it until Hagrid finally told the goblin to stop at a vault that Harry knew to be his trust fund.

"Vault 687! Lamp, please?" the goblin asked as Hagrid handed the lamp over.

The goblin then opened the vault and revealed the gold inside. Harry nodded in approval as he and Hagrid entered.

"You didn' think your mum an' dad would leave you withou' nothin' now, did you?" Hagrid asked with a wide grin.

Harry merely shook his head as he began to take the necessary money to get his supplies. He exited soon after with Hagrid and they got back into the cart to get to their next destination. It didn't take long as after a few minutes, they were there.

"Vault 713!" the goblin stated.

Harry looked at the vault and felt something powerful was hidden inside. He deduced that this must be what Hagrid mentioned to the goblin at the desk earlier.

"What's in there, Hagrid?" Harry asked, his curiosity not allowing him to stay quiet.

"Can' tell you tha', 'Arry. 'Ogwarts business. Very secret," Hagrid answered bluntly.

Obviously, Harry wasn't going to get anywhere with this, so he resigned himself to wait until the goblin opened the vault to show what was inside. Once the vault was opened, Harry was only able to catch a glimpse of a small, filled bag on a pedestal before Hagrid quickly took it and placed it in his coat as he addressed Harry.

"Bes' no' be tellin' anyone abou' this, 'Arry, alrigh'?" Hagrid said, to which Harry nodded for appearances sake as he was still curious about what it was.

After this, Harry and Hagrid went back up to the surface and exited Gringotts. They then went and got a trunk and all of Harry's required supplies, which they placed straight into the trunk. Soon, they stopped off at Ollivander's to get Harry's wand.

"You go in a ge' your wand, 'Arry. I jus' have somethin' to ge'. Won' be long," Hagrid said before walking off towards Eeylop's Owl Emporium.

Harry then entered the shop and walked up to the desk. Seeing no-one around, he decided to shout out to see if anyone was in the back and saw an old man slide in on a ladder. To Harry, it seemed like it was staged, so he grinned as he saw the slightly shocked and confused expression on the man's face as it was obvious that Harry hadn't reacted as expected. However, the man soon steeled himself and began to speak.

"I was wondering when I'd be seeing you, Mr Potter," the man said.

"I take it that you are Mr Ollivander, the wand maker, then?" Harry enquired.

"Yes. I have been creating and selling wands for many years now. It seems like only yesterday that your mother and father were in here buying their first wands, and now here you are as well. Ah! Try this one. 11 inches, Mahogany, dragon heartstring core," Ollivander explained as he handed a wand to Harry.

Harry didn't feel any pull to the wand, so he gave it straight back. He remembered from his books and what Sabrina had said that the wand chooses the wizard or witch and that it would be obvious when he found the right wand for him.

"Hmm...no-one's ever just given me a wand straight back. You didn't even test it out," Ollivander commented.

"I felt no connection to that wand, I'm afraid. It should stay here until it's true master arrives," Harry replied.

"You're very wise, Mr Potter. It's intriguing to find someone who can feel, or rather not feel, a connection so instantaneously. Alright then...Perhaps...this? 10 inches, Willow, unicorn hair core," Ollivander said, handing a new wand to Harry.

Once again, Harry didn't feel a connection with this wand either and handed it back. Ollivander handed him multiple wands over the next few minutes, with each one not connecting to him. Eventually, Ollivander went into his store room and slowly pulled out two boxes.

"I wonder...I've kept these two wands for many years now...I always knew that they would be in the hands of a powerful wizard or witch...11 inches, Holly, phoenix feather core and 12 inches, Hazel, basilisk venom and shadow phoenix feather core. Please, try them out," Ollivander explained hesitantly as he gave Harry the two wands.

Harry took both wands in his wands and felt a warmth flow through his body as he was engulfed in a golden glow as sparks flew out of the tips of both wands. Yes, it seemed as though he was the master of two wands then.

"Curious...Very curious..." Ollivander said hesitantly.

"I'm sorry, sir, but what's curious?" Harry asked, his curiosity also peaking at Ollivander's.

" I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr Potter. It just so happens that the phoenix, whose tail feather resides in your Holly wand, gave another feather...Just one other. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand when its brother...gave you that scar..." Ollivander explained.

"Voldemort's wand is my wand's brother? Which phoenix gave those feathers?" Harry enquired.

"Albus Dumbledore's phoenix familiar, Fawkes, gave them to me. A phoenix only ever gives one feather, and rarely ever another, hence why they will be forever linked. But I warn you, Mr Potter, not to mention his name to people around here. We do not speak his name as many are still fearful to this day," Ollivander explained.

"That's exactly what he wanted. Once every feared his name, he became more egotistical and dangerous as he thought that his power was limitless and not to be challenged...until I came along. I will not live in fear of a madman who is no more than a murderer. Lord Voldemort died a coward; trying to murder a defenceless child in fear of someone holding greater power than he could ever imagine, and it backfired on him. Now then, enough of this morbid talk. What about my second wand?" Harry stated confidently, neglecting to mention the possibility of Voldemort's return as he knew that it wouldn't go down well.

"You are very wise, Mr Potter. Much wiser than most. Your Hazel wand is an interesting wand and one of the most unique wands I have ever made. Hazel wands themselves are deeply intertwined with the emotions of its master. For example, it is unwise for anyone other than the wand's master to handle it, especially when said master is in emotional turmoil like depression or anger, as the false user would find that any spell they would attempt to cast with the wand would blow up in their faces, if not just outright blast them across the room and disarm them. What makes this particular wand unique is the dual-core of basilisk venom and a shadow phoenix feather. These cores make this wand perfect for many spells, including having a great aptitude for dark magic. To become the master of such a wand, the person must have a great hidden darkness and power inside to be able to harness its power due to how dark the dual-core is. To find someone to not only claim this wand, but also claim another wand that has a light core, is astonishing. Yes, I think it is very clear now that you will do great things, Mr Potter. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things too...Terrible things...but great nonetheless. Be very careful of your inner darkness, Mr Potter. It is very strong, I can see, but you can control it. Do not become another like the Dark Lord," Ollivander explained with caution and concern.

Harry nodded as he paid for his wands and bought two wand holsters that he then placed on his belt, one on either side. He then bid Ollivander goodbye before leaving the shop to see Hagrid waiting for him with a snowy owl in an owl cage.

"'Appy birthday, 'Arry!" Hagrid exclaimed as he passed the owl over to Harry.

When Harry took the cage, he could tell that the owl was judging him to see whether he was worthy of it. No...her, Harry corrected as he could feel it when they connected. Yes, she also seemed to be another animal who wanted to be his familiar. After apparently judging him to be worthy, she nipped his finger and let the blood drip onto her head before it dissolved and the cut healed.

"I am honoured that such a proud and beautiful owl would bind to me. However, you don't have a name by the looks of it...How about...Hedwig?" Harry enquired.

The newly named Hedwig hooted her approval as Harry laughed. Sabrina peeked out from under Harry's sleeve to see the new addition to their family and locked eyes with Hedwig. The two females stared at each other for a few seconds before nodding and going back to their business. Harry was slightly worried that the two wouldn't get along, but Sabrina soon piped up to ease his worry.

 _~Don't worry, my Harry. I think that we'll be just fine~_ Sabrina hissed as she rubbed his arm for reassurance.

"Is everything alright, 'Arry?" Hagrid asked, concerned at his silence.

"Yeah. Just making sure that Hedwig was alright. Looks like we'll be the best of friends," Harry responded with a grin.

Hagrid seemed to be satisfied with this as he led Harry back towards the Leaky Cauldron. However, he forgot something from Diagon Alley and went back through the back entrance. Harry grinned as this was exactly what he needed and he didn't need to manipulate anything to do it.

 _~Looks like luck is on our side, Harry~_ Sabrina stated.

 _~Yes, it is. Now to get back to Gringotts and finish our business there. Let's hope that we're able to sneak past Hagrid though and get back before him~_ Harry responded.

Harry made his way into Gringotts and the same goblin was at the desk to greet him.

"Ah, Mr Potter. Ragnorork is waiting for you in his office to complete your business after all of these years," the goblin said.

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied as he went through the door behind the goblin.

Harry made his way to Ragnorork's office and saw him on his chair with a grin on his face.

"Mr Potter, it's been a while," Ragnorork said.

"Yes, it has. I believe that completing the business we spoke about back then has been long overdue. It's time that I claim my Lordships of House Potter and House Peverell," Harry replied with a grin.

"Yes, my goblins informed me of your arrival, so I have the rings prepared for you, Mr Potter. Do you know the oaths?" Ragnorork answered while giving Harry the rings.

"I do. I, Harry James Potter, claim the title of Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Peverell and swear to uphold justice in this world as my ancestors have done for hundreds of years, so mote be it!" Harry swore as he placed the rings on his finger.

The rings started to glow and merge together to form a more ornate ring that had characteristics of each Houses' ring. Magic had accepted Harry again and he was now a Lord.

"Finally, now no-one can control me. Thank you, Ragnorork. However, before I go can I view my parents' will?" Harry asked.

"Certainly. Becoming a Lord has finally unsealed the will. No need for me to tell you who sealed it, I take it?" Ragnorork replied.

"Dumbledore..." Harry seethed.

"Precisely. Now then, here we go..." Ragnorork said as he activated the will to show two holograms of James and Lily Potter.

 _"We, James and Lily Potter, declare that we were of sound mind and body while creating this will._

 _To Remus Lupin, we leave 1 million galleons and a lifetime supply of Wolfsbane Potion to help with your furry problem. Now no-one will have a just cause to discriminate against you or reject you ever again._

 _To Sirius Black, we leave 2 million galleons and the custody of our son, Harry. To all of you who assume that Sirius was our secret keeper and therefore blame him for our deaths, you are wrong. Peter Pettigrew was made our secret keeper, so if we are dead, he sold us to Voldemort, not Sirius._

 _And to our dear son, Harry, we leave everything to you. We love you dearly, son, and don't ever blame yourself for our deaths. We would do anything to protect you. If Sirius is unavailable to take care of Harry, then Remus Lupin, Professor McGonagall or the Longbottom are to take his place. He is never to be sent to Petunia Dursley whatsoever as she and her family hate magic and will try to harm him!_

 _We love you all. Do not mourn us and never give up the fight._

 _James and Lily Potter."_

As the will ended and the holograms faded away, Harry was left with tears at seeing his parents and listening to their voices. They loved him and never wanted to send him to the Dursleys. However, one bit interested him.

"Ragnorork? What do they mean about their 'secret keeper' being Peter Pettigrew and not Sirius Black. Who are they?" Harry enquired.

"Yes, this is most intriguing. Official records state that Sirius Black is your godfather, Lord of House Black, and that he was your secret keeper. He then supposedly killed Peter Pettigrew, who tried to confront him, and 13 other muggles. Dumbledore was the one that testified to say that Lord Black was their secret keeper. Lord Black never seemed to receive a proper trial. However, considering what we learned a few years ago, it's obviously that Dumbledore did this deliberately to get Lord Black out of the picture and keep you under control. With this bit of evidence, and your go ahead as Lord Potter-Peverell and Lord Black's godson, we can arrange a trial for Lord Black and free him," Ragnorork explained.

"Dumbledore's going to pay for this...big time! If you could get that sorted for me, then I would be most grateful and we can begin to cause doubt about the old coot amongst Magical Britain. Also, I think that now will be the best time to reclaim the money that is owed to me, wouldn't you agree Ragnorork?" Harry responded with a grin.

Ragnorork returned the grin and agreed as he and Harry filled out the necessary paperwork. Just before Harry left, Ragnorork had one final issue that Harry would need to address.

"Now, Lord Potter, it is imperative that we discuss what to tell Dumbledore when he eventually arrives. He has come in the past to withdraw money out of the Potter family vault to use as he deemed fit, but he will not be able to do so anymore since you claimed your Lordships. What do you want me to tell him when he starts to ask questions? Shall I tell him the truth, or do you have other ideas in mind?" Ragnorork asked with a grin at the end, knowing full well what the new young Lord would say.

"Tell him that after a review of my parents' will, which was unsealed after my eleventh birthday, it was discovered that no-one but I could access the vaults, unless I gave them permission to, since I came of school age for...family reasons...It will annoy him to no end, but he will not try to question too much into it. It's a half-truth, so it won't be so suspicious. However, if he asks to view the will himself, then tell him that the will was also banned from being viewed by anyone except me and you as well. It will be most enjoyable when he calls me into his office to convince me to give him access to my vault only to have another door shut in his face," Harry answered with a cunning grin.

After a nod from Ragnorork, Harry bid the goblin farewell as he left Gringotts and Ragnorork sent a copy of the will and the necessary endorsing documents to the Ministry. Yes, it was time to begin to set the wrongs that had been done to Harry right.

Fortunately, Harry was able to make it back to the Leaky Cauldron just before Hagrid returned. All in all, today had been very productive as Hagrid and Dumbledore were now none-the-wiser to what had transpired and Dumbledore would not be able to control him ever again. Hagrid then took Harry back to the Dursleys and said that he would return to take him to King's Cross Station on September 1st. The half-giant then left and Harry went upstairs to his bedroom to contemplate his next move and thought about what to expect when going to King's Cross.

Soon, Harry and Sabrina fell to sleep after the long day, prepared to face whatever Hogwarts was going to throw at them.

A/N: Hey guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are liking this version of my Harry and Sabrina. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews and let me know if you can see any possible points to improve upon. This concludes Harry's early life and the next chapter will begin the First Year at Hogwarts. I'll upload those chapters once I've gone through them and I am happy with them. Stay tuned for then. Bye for now.


	6. Chapter 6: Going to Hogwarts

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter of my story. I should have the rest of the chapters up to 10 uploaded soon, so bare with me and enjoy the chapter. I don't own Harry Potter, JKR does.**

Chapter 6: Going to Hogwarts

Harry got up early on September 1st and made sure that everything was ready before he set off for King's Cross Station. Hagrid arrived soon after Harry got ready and they made their way to King's Cross. When they entered, they were just about to get to the platforms before Hagrid forgot something.

"Blimey, is that the time?! Sorry, 'Arry, but I best be off. Dumbledore will be wantin' to...well to see me. 'Ere's your ticke'. Now, it's very importan' tha' you stick to your ticket, alright? Stick to your ticke'," Hagrid exclaimed, giving Harry a train ticket before leaving.

 _~Well, this means that we won't have any unwanted attention now if we stay away from the crowds. Hagrid may have a good heart, but he wasn't too bright when he announced my presence everywhere we went where witches and wizards were. Why couldn't they just lay off the hero worship?~_ Harry hissed.

 _~Well, we'll just have to keep to the shadows and sidelines if you want to avoid any more attention. You and your parents defeated Voldemort. Everyone is going to worship you at the beginning after meeting you, my Harry. You just need to forget about that and be yourself, then people will like you for who you are~_ Sabrina responded.

Harry went silent then and walked down to the platforms to try and find the entrance to Platform 9 and 3/4. Soon, he found Platforms 9 and 10 and was about to walk towards them before seeing a family of redheads coming. He hid behind a pillar as they walked past and the mother started to speak, and rather loudly at that.

"-packed with muggles of course! Come on! Platform 9 and 3/4 this way!" the mother shouted.

"Mum, why are you shouting? The muggles will hear you," the young girl next to her, who Harry assumed was her daughter, said quietly.

"Come now, Ginevra! Don't worry so much! The muggles never pay attention to us!" the mother replied loudly, not wanting to hear her daughter's concerns.

As the family went past, Harry came out from behind the pillar and peered around to see what was going on.

 _~That was strange...Why would a witch speak so loudly about the Platform and muggles? We're surrounded by muggles! The only person who seemed to understand that too was her daughter for crying out loud!~_ Harry exclaimed.

 _~Maybe she's trying to attract someone's attention...Likely your attention, to be precise. However, it appears as though it's her daughter who's got it instead, hmm?~_ Sabrina answered with a cheeky smile.

Harry agreed with Sabrina on the mother but ignored her comment about the daughter, ending the conversation there as he blushed slightly. The two continued to watch as the mother sent her children through the pillar between the two platforms as she kept looking around as if she was searching for someone. And that someone, as Sabrina said, was likely to be him. Eventually, the mother gave up just looking around on the spot and walked away, leaving her daughter behind.

Harry saw the young girl cry after her mother, who wasn't paying her any attention. The young girl was starting to tear up and it angered Harry as he couldn't believe that any mother could be so self-absorbed to leave their own child and ignore them for such stupid reasons.

Harry decided to talk to the girl and maybe find out how the boys went through the pillar. So, once the mother was out of sight, he walked up to the girl and broke her out of her sad thoughts.

"Hey. Excuse, but exactly how did your brothers get through that pillar?" Harry enquired.

"W-what?" the young girl cried out in shock.

"I saw your mother tell your brothers to go through the pillar. I take it that it leads to Platform 9 and 3/4 then?" Harry pressed on.

"Oh! Y-yes it does. You seem new. I've never seen you before. Is this your first year at Hogwarts?" the girl replied at last, realising that Harry was a wizard.

"Yes, it is. I wanted to ask how you make it through the pillar. Is there some spell that we have to perform to open the portal or something?" Harry asked quizzically.

"No, the portal's always open to witches and wizards who need to get onto the Platform," the girl responded with a smile.

"That's a relief. Thank you for explaining Miss..." Harry said, letting the 'Miss' as an incentive to get her name to thank her properly.

"Ginny. My name's Ginny Weasley," Ginny replied.

"Then it's very nice to meet you, Miss Weasley, and thank you for your help," Harry said with a bow.

"Just call me Ginny. 'Miss' makes me sound old!" Ginny requested with a pout.

"As you wish...Ginny," Harry responded, playing Ginny's name on his lips. It sounded nice.

"You're welcome. Now, you know my name, but I don't know yours," Ginny said playfully.

"My name is Harry. Harry Potter. At your service," Harry replied, bowing again.

"You're Harry Potter?!" Ginny cried out in surprise, stepping back in shock at Harry's identity.

"Last time I checked, yes. Onto other things, your mother seemed to be acting strange, wasn't she? Shouting about the Platform and wandering off, leaving you alone. It's almost as like she was expecting someone," Harry said, wondering if Ginny would give some insight into this.

"I did think that, but she never told me anything about that...You don't think that..." Ginny explained before looking at Harry pointedly.

"Considering what I found out recently, I've become very cautious with people and I can't lower my guard when people might indeed be looking for me," Harry explained with a dark expression.

Ginny looked at Harry and grew worried when she saw his expression change. This wasn't the same curious boy that she had just been speaking to, but a dark and cold individual that had been wronged many times in his life.

"You shouldn't need to be so cautious and guarded, especially at our age," Ginny said with concern.

"Most people don't have their parents murdered and get betrayed by people they should be able to trust, Ginny," Harry responded emotionlessly.

Ginny sighed as she realised that Harry was right about that and it seemed to affect him more than he let on. She wondered how he had got on alone as it was clear that he lacked the normal social skills of someone who had friends, so it only made her more concerned.

"Did you and your parents have many friends?" Ginny asked, wanting to see if her suspicions were correct.

"My parents apparently did, but they're scattered now. Some betrayed them, some were betrayed and sent away also and some I don't know. As for me, I only have two friends, and they aren't human," Harry explained, confirming Ginny's suspicions.

"What would happen if you did have a human friend?" Ginny asked shyly.

"Then life in the Wizarding World wouldn't be so bad," Harry replied truthfully.

During the conversation, Harry had been analysing Ginny's nature and personality. She clearly had no idea about this scheme of her mother's, which made her interest in him genuine. She seemed to be a shy, yet strong-willed girl behind her young exterior. The concern that she was showing for him as well, as well as her genuine normality even after discovering who he was, was quite endearing to him as the only people who had shown such concern before her were Sabrina and his parents. Maybe...she could be his first friend in the Wizarding World.

"Maybe...Umm...Maybe I could be your friend..." Ginny asked hesitantly, putting a hand over her heart to show her shyness as her facial expression betrayed her fear of rejection.

Ginny clearly hadn't had many, if any, friends herself. Her family didn't seem to notice her either, which probably caused this fear inside of her to surface. Maybe, they both needed a friend after all.

"Is that what you want? To be my friend?" Harry asked for clarification.

"Y-yes, I-I want to be your friend," Ginny replied with a hopefully look on her face.

"I want to be your friend too, Ginny," Harry said with a smile.

Ginny's face lit up at this, which made Harry's heart swell for the first time in ages as he felt good knowing that he had caused her such happiness. She then proceeded to jump on him and hug him, something that he had never had before and it caught him by surprise, making him go completely still.

As Ginny realised what she had impulsively done, she blushed a bright red and after getting over her own shock, she realised that Harry had stiffened up. This concerned her greatly as she had never seen this before, which made her worried about what he had truly gone through. It was almost as like he had never been hugged before. She eventually let him go, but he still seemed to be in shock.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I just haven't had a friend before and I felt so happy..." Ginny tried to explain while still blushing furiously.

Harry just stared at Ginny as he tried to get over his shock at having his first hug. He felt bad for not hugging back, but he hadn't exactly had experience and he had no idea what to do. Knowing his new strength, he might have crushed her. Eventually, he shuck himself out of his stupor and saw her worried expression, making him feel worse as he knew that he had caused it.

"It's alright, really. It was just unexpected, that's all," Harry lied.

Ginny seemed to be fooled by Harry's lie, or she just let it slide as she didn't say anything more on the subject.

"By the way, how come you didn't go through the wall with your brothers? Are you not 11 yet?" Harry asked casually, changing the topic.

"No, I'm still 10 years old. One more year to go. But at least I have something to look forward to now as I'll be able to spend a lot of time with you then," Ginny said, beaming.

Before long, however, Harry could see Ginny's mother come around the corner and decided that he needed to go before anything happened.

"It seems as though your mother has given up on her search. I best get going myself. I'll write a letter to you as soon as I get to Hogwarts and get sorted, alright? Stay safe, Ginny," Harry reassured Ginny as he noticed her face become crestfallen as he said that he needed to go.

"Yes. Thank you, Harry. Talk to you soon. Don't forget to tell me everything, you hear me?!" Ginny replied.

Harry chuckled as he saw Ginny's mother run towards them. She must've seen him, but he wasn't going to give her a chance to talk to him. With one last look at Ginny, he took a hold of his cart and ran through the pillar, coming face to face with a bright red train that was labelled 'Hogwarts Express'. He looked up and saw the sign saying 'Platform 9 and 3/4' and smiled. He made it.

Harry got on the train and found an empty compartment, placing his trunk on the shelf above the bench and Hedwig beside him, stroking her after opening the cage.

 _~Well then. You had quite an interesting little conversation with that Ginny girl, didn't you my Harry?~_ Sabrina teased.

 _~What are you getting at, Sabrina?~_ Harry asked, not up for playing Sabrina's games.

 _~Well, it was very obvious that she likes you. And I think that you like her too. I'm almost jealous~_ Sabrina teased, almost pouting through their bond.

 _~Oh come on! I'm 11 and she's 10! I've only just met the girl, Sabrina, so how could I like her that way! She's just my first friend, alright?!"_ Harry exclaimed in embarrassment.

 _~So you say, but remember that I can feel your emotions and hear your thoughts. You can't fool me with your aloof attitude, my Harry~_ Sabrina commented.

 _~You really are jealous, aren't you? Getting all possessive, are we?~_ Harry teased back, smirking as he got his own back on his serpentine familiar.

 _~In your dreams! J-just shut up!~_ Sabrina exclaimed while inwardly blushing.

Harry merely chuckled and began to stroke Sabrina's head, calming her down and making her content. That was how it stayed for a good while after the train pulled away, until someone opened the compartment door. It was a red-haired boy around his age. He then recognised the boy as one of Ginny's brothers from the Platform.

"Excuse me? Do you mind if I sit in here? Everywhere else is full?" the boy asked.

Harry thought that something seemed off about this, especially considering that there were many unoccupied compartments left in this carriage. It was like the redhead was looking for someone.

 _~Maybe someone like you, hmm?~_ Sabrina stated, getting a mental hush from Harry.

Whatever the case, Harry decided to play along for now and try to find some information about the boy and his intentions, so he gestured for the red-haired boy to sit opposite him, which the boy did with a grin.

"You seem familiar. I'm sure that I saw you in King's Cross. Are you one of Ginny Weasley's brothers, by any chance?" Harry asked politely.

"Umm, y-yeah. I'm Ron. I've never been asked if I was Ginny's brother before. It's usually the other way around with her always being asked whether she's our little sister," Ron replied with a hint of annoyance behind his voice.

"Why's that exactly?" Harry enquired, detecting Ron's annoyance.

"Well, as I said, she's my little sister, so everyone usually knows us first and then wonders what she's doing there as she watches us play Quidditch. She can't play with us though as she's a girl and all. She's just weird and creepy around the house," Ron explained bluntly.

"She didn't seem weird or creepy when I was talking to her," Harry stated with a hint of anger behind his voice. He didn't like where Ron's explanation was going.

"Well I can assure you that she is. That's why she doesn't have any friends. Not that anyone wants to. We don't exactly have any girls come over, so there's no room for her to join in as none of the guys would be her friend," Ron said with a chuckle.

"Just because Ginny's a girl, doesn't mean that she can't have both male and female friends, you know?" Harry commented, getting more irritated by Ron's arrogance as time went on.

"Oh come on, mate! She's just a silly little girl at the moment. She'll make friends when she's older. Besides, I don't see her making any guy friends anytime soon as no-one was ever interested and they would never match up to the great 'Boy-Who-Lived'! The amount of times that she would get Dad to re-read his story and then for her to say that she would be his friend and love him was an insane number! As if she'd ever catch his eye! I'm the one who's going to be his friend and then I'll show everyone what we can do!" Ron continued, oblivious to Harry's growing anger.

"Funny, because when I spoke to her before going through the pillar, she seemed like a nice girl and someone who could make lots of friends, including me. Why exactly are you putting her down, anyway? She's your sister! You should be looking after her and defending her, not trying to humiliate her behind her back!" Harry responded angrily.

"Yeah right, you're just joking with me, right mate? Why would you want to be friends with her?" Ron said with a laugh.

"Because she spoke to me like a was just another person and was actually nice to me! What more is there to know?! Do you want to stop, or are you that much of an idiot to test my patience further?!" Harry growled, flaring his magical aura slightly.

Sabrina then came out of Harry's collar and tried to calm him down while hissing at Ron.

 _~Calm yourself, my Harry. You can't give yourself away so soon. Especially to this idiot~_ Sabrina hissed softly.

"Ah! A snake! You've got a snake on you! Get it off quickly!" Ron screamed in fear.

"She won't hurt me. She's my familiar," Harry said with amusement at seeing the redhead's fear.

"Y-your familiar?! But it's a snake! Snakes are evil! It's clearly trying to corrupt you and make you angry with me! Just ditch it and we can be friends!" Ron exclaimed.

"Now you've done it! Get out now before I make you regret those words!" Harry growled as his aura grew stronger.

"You're a fool then! Mark my words! When I'm friends with Harry Potter, you'll be begging to be my friend instead of my stupid sister's and you'll leave that dark creature before you know it!" Ron exclaimed before leaving the compartment and walking down the carriage to find another compartment to sit in.

 _~Considering your reaction, my Harry, I think that he won't be having you beg to be his friend or have Harry Potter as his friend at all~_ Sabrina commented in amusement.

 _~He'll do well not to insult you or Ginny again in my presence. I don't take kindly to backstabbers and prejudiced fools!~_ Harry responded darkly.

 _~Aww! You got mad and defended little old me? I'm truly touched, my Harry~_ Sabrina teased.

 _~Shut up, you!~_ Harry hissed, making Sabrina giggle.

Soon enough, Harry was visited by another person. This time, a girl with bushy brown hair opened the door. She seemed to hold herself like someone who was very proper and knew everything, even slightly looking down her nose.

"Excuse me? Have you, by any chance, seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one," the girl asked.

"Sorry, but I haven't I'm afraid. I'm sure it'll turn up," Harry replied.

"Hmm...what's your name? You seem rather familiar. I swear that I've seen you in one of my books," the girl enquired.

"My name is Harry Potter. And you-" Harry tried to reply before the girl cut him off.

"You're Harry Potter! Of course! You look just like the pictures in the books! But you seem different to how you're portrayed," the girl exclaimed in excitement.

Harry had read some of his so-called 'biographies' and he was not impressed at all. Considering his age, he was surprised that anyone could even get away with publishing such outlandish tales. Fighting werewolves? Killing dragons? Some people had such an overactive imagination, that's for sure. But to think that people believed those stories was crazy to him.

"You'll be surprised at how much information is false in books, Miss...?" Harry replied, letting the 'Miss' hang in the air until she told him her name.

"Oh! My name is Hermione Granger. And what do you mean by that?" Hermione asked, shocked that Harry would say such a thing about such wonderful things.

"Not everything written is true, especially when it comes to life stories about someone who no-one has seen for 10 years. If they are true, then explain to me how exactly I could've done those things in my 'biographies', yet remain hidden and unnoticed for all these years. It can't be done," Harry explained.

"You don't act like how they portray you either," Hermione added with a frown.

"Neither do I wish to. You'll learn soon enough that the Wizarding World only wants you to know what they deem to be necessary. While much of the theory in the books for our subject at Hogwarts is true, these books and lessons will only get you so far as they will only teach you so much. There are a lot more to look at than just academic texts. The sooner you realise that the better. I learned that a long time ago and not through the best of circumstances," Harry continued, unaffected by Hermione's disappointment over him.

"What's got you so upset. Books store lots of information! I've already read almost all of this year's material so I'm very confident in being able to answer all of the professor's questions. Professor Dumbledore even remarked on how surprised he was when he visited me a second time about me reading all of those books," Hermione explained.

"So am I...Wait a minute...Dumbledore visited you?!" Harry questioned in shock.

" _Professor_ Dumbledore did, yes. He gave me my letter and took me to Diagon Alley as I'm a muggle-born. He really is a great symbol of the Light. He is the most powerful wizard in the world after all," Hermione chastised.

 _~Not anymore, he isn't~_ Sabrina hissed.

Harry inwardly hissed as well. First at Hermione correcting him with calling the old man 'Professor' and second that he went to see muggle-borns and clearly taught them to look up to him from an early age. No wonder everyone loved the manipulative old fool as he made sure to give them the best first impression.

"Yeah, the greatest," Harry sarcastically responded.

"Is there some sarcasm behind those words?! How could you not think well of him after everything he's done for the Wizarding World?!" Hermione enquired.

"You'd be surprised at my answer, but you probably wouldn't believe me either," Harry replied cryptically.

"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly, then I don't know why I should listen to you! I'll show you how wrong you are about everything! You'll see!" Hermione declared.

"I'm merely trying to warn you, but if that's how you're going to be, then so be it," Harry sighed.

With that, Hermione closed the door and left as well, leaving Harry alone with Sabrina and Hedwig again.

 _~Well, that was weird~_ Harry said.

 _~You're telling me. She certainly loves her books, but she seems to rely on them too much. I can't believe that she's automatically believed everything that she's read about the Wizarding World and lapped up everything Dumbledore has probably told her too~_ Sabrina responded thoughtfully.

 _~Let's hope that she realises the truth for her sake, then. She's clearly intelligence, but blindly following Dumbledore won't help her~_ Harry stated, earning a nod from Sabrina.

The rest of the train ride went on without any interruptions, allowing Harry to just spend some alone time with Sabrina and Hedwig, who revelled in the attention from him. It would soon be time for him to take Hogwarts by storm and put his plan into motion to get his revenge on Dumbledore and expose him for the manipulative old man that he truly was. As Harry changed into his robes, he could only wonder what was going to happen next. Yes, this was going to be very interesting...


	7. Chapter 7: The Sorting Ceremony

Chapter 7: The Sorting Ceremony

The time soon flew by and before Harry knew it, the train had pulled up at Hogwarts Station. Quickly getting his trunk down, he took it and Hedwig outside to drop off with the other trunks and owl cages to be taken up to their rooms after being sorted. He then noticed Hagrid at the far end of the platform who started to call to all of the first years.

"Firs' years! This way to the boats now! Come along, don' be shy!" Hagrid bellowed.

Harry walked up to Hagrid with the rest of the first years and placed a practiced smile on his face as he greeted Dumbledore's half-giant lackey.

"Hello Hagrid," Harry greeted.

"A'! 'Ello 'Arry! I see tha' everyone's 'ere. Now, all of you follow me to the boats and we can head to Hogwarts," Hagrid responded with a smile.

Harry followed his fellow first years and Hagrid to find a convenient number of boats on the shore line that could fit up to four students in each. Hagrid told this to the students as he climbed into the one at the front and set off once everyone had boarded a boat. Harry found himself in the same boat as Hermione and some other girls. The brunette saw him and turned her head, refusing to look at him though. He did feel some remorse for making her angry by refusing to tell her the truth, but it was obvious that she wouldn't believe him anyway with her attitude towards books and authority figures at the moment. Maybe, if she could get over that, she might be a good ally as she was clearly very smart.

 _~Until then, my Harry, there's nothing you can do. She needs to come around on her own. You can try and be nice to her if you ever do come into contact with her, but I wouldn't try to push anything at the moment while she's still on edge~_ Sabrina explained, trying to reassure Harry.

 _~You're right. Thanks Sabrina~_ Harry responded with an inward smile.

After a short journey across the lake, including giving the students their first look at Hogwarts, the first years finally docked on the shores of Hogwarts and got out of the boats. Hagrid led them inside and sent them towards the Great Hall before heading off. Harry just stayed in the middle of the crowd to avoid bringing any attention to himself, which seemed to be working. When they got to the doors to the Great Hall, then were stopped by a woman standing in front of the entrance.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall; Head of Gryffindor House and your Transfiguration professor. Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. However, before you join them, you must be sorted into your houses. There are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. While you are here, your house will be like your family. You're triumphs will earn you house points. Any rule-breaking will result in losing points. The house with the most house points at the end of the year will win the House Cup-" the woman explained before being cut off.

"Trevor!" a boy cried as he saw his lost toad by the woman's feet. He picked his toad up and hurriedly scurried backwards and apologised as he saw her stern look.

 _~I bet that must be that Neville boy who lost his toad on the train~_ Sabrina mused, earning a nod of agreement from Harry.

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily," the woman finalised before heading into the Great Hall and closing the doors behind her.

After the woman's talk, the first years all began to speak to each other, wondering what to expect from the professors, the Sorting Ceremony and the lessons taught at Hogwarts. Some of the assumptions about what they were required to do for the ceremony made Harry and Sabrina inwardly laugh at the absurdity of them. Unfortunately for Harry, he was so wrapped up in his own amusement that he neglected to notice the three boys coming towards him until it was too late.

"So, the rumours of what they were talking about on the train were true. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts," the blond boy stated with a smirk.

The boy's statement got many of the first years talking, wondering if they might get to meet and talk to the famous Boy-Who-Lived themselves and befriend him. Harry sighed in annoyance at this and cursed himself for not being more vigilant. At least he had his back to the crowd so that they didn't see his face to be able to recognise him before the Sorting Ceremony.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle. And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," Draco said, indicating the two boys behind him and himself.

 _~Something doesn't feel right about this, Harry. I don't like it~_ Sabrina commented with worry.

"Well, you already know who I am. Is there something you need?" Harry enquired cautiously.

"Well, I just thought that, considering who you are, you would need some help around here as you haven't been in the Wizarding World for 10 years. After all, you don't want to be making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there," Draco explained with a slight dark tone to his voice as he stuck his hand out for a handshake.

 _~Who comes out with something like that if they're only trying to help? He seems too fishy for my liking. Don't trust him, Harry~_ Sabrina stated with concern.

"You've been misinformed then. As for making friends, I believe that I can tell the wrong sort for myself. I thank you for the offer though," Harry responded, trying to sound as polite as possible.

In return, Draco glared at Harry. Before anything more could be said, the woman returned and sent Draco back into the crowd before stealing a glance at Harry and addressing the first years again.

"They're ready for you now. Follow me," the woman said as he led the first years into the Great Hall and up to a stool in front of the table where Harry assumed was where the professors sat.

On the stool was a brown and tattered pointed hat which was soon picked up by the woman as she addressed the first years again.

"Now, when I call your name, you will come up, sit on the stool, I will place the Sorting Hat on your head and you will be sorted into your houses," the woman explained as the Sorting Ceremony began.

The woman began to call out the names of the first years. Notable ones that Harry listened to were Malfoy and his cronies getting sorted into Slytherin, Ron Weasley getting sorted into Gryffindor and Hermione Granger, who was the textbook bookworm and academic, getting sorted into Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw as he would've expected. There was clearly more to the girl than what meets the eye. The boy who he assumed was Neville was also sorted into Gryffindor. Considering the boy's mannerisms, body language and general attitude, Harry was rather surprised at this development. He would need to keep a close eye on many of the Gryffindors now, it seemed. However, the time came for his name to be called, and he could only smirk at what would happen next. It was time to begin the first step of his plan.

"Harry Potter!" the woman called.

Everyone began looking around in an attempt to locate Harry in the crowd, but their attempts were fruitless until he stepped out himself, giving everyone a clear view of him for the first time. He inwardly chuckled with Sabrina as he saw Ron's expression changed from flabbergasted to fear as he clearly recognised him from the train.

Harry walked up to the stool and sat down, letting the woman place the Sorting Hat on his head. As soon as that happened, he began to hear the voice of the sentient hat in his head.

'Difficult...very difficult...Plenty of courage, I see, an excellent mind too, not very trusting, but loyal to those worthy of your trust, and there's talent and an ambitious plan here...Oh yes...and a thirst to prove yourself...But where to put you?' the hat lamented in Harry's mind.

'I wouldn't try to pry into those plans if I were you. I've allowed you to see my traits, but that is all I will permit as I don't trust Dumbledore not to try to find anything out through you. We both know which house I am expected to be in, so why not cut the small talk and sort me into Gryffindor like Dumbledore wants so that we can end the matter,' Harry replied harshly.

'You are correct about Dumbledore, Mr Potter. You have clearly thought this through quite well...Yes, this will be very interesting indeed...' the hat responded before leaving the forefront of Harry's mind to address the rest of the students, "Better be...GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table cheered almost triumphantly as Harry grinned and walked over to the table, instantly getting pats on the back and handshakes while listening to "We got Potter!" over and over again. You'd think that he was nothing more than an object. Then again, that's exactly how Dumbledore viewed him; an object and pawn to use for his schemes to do for the 'Greater Good' of the Wizarding World a.k.a. for himself.

After the final first years had been sorted, Dumbledore gave a customary greeting speech and warned everyone to stay away from the Forbidden Forest and the Third Floor Corridor on the right-hand side. Harry had a bad feeling that the Corridor might be wherever that package was being kept. He would definitely need to be cautious around Dumbledore and that area as he wondered whether the package might be one of Dumbledore's tests to see whether he was still on the light path.

Speaking of Dumbledore, Harry caught a small glimpse of the wide grin that was plastered on the old man's face and the malicious glint in his eyes that disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared, leaving no-one but Harry any wiser to the true nature of the old man. This made Harry grin himself as it meant that Dumbledore had fallen for his ploy. By making sure that he was sorted into Gryffindor, the old fool would still believe that he was noble and on the light side so, therefore, easy to manipulate. However, the old fool would never know, until it was too late, that the boy that he wanted to use as his pawn had actually switched the roles around without Dumbledore suspecting a thing.

Harry's good mood was soon gone when a familiar red-haired boy walked up to him with a confident grin on his face. This wasn't going to end well...at least for Ron.

"Hey, mate! I can't believe that you never said who you were on the train! I'm sorry for offending you and all. I hope that we can still be friends though," Ron said, holding his hand out to Harry as Malfoy did earlier today.

"It's not me who you should be apologising to, now is it? And what do you mean 'still friends'? We never were. If I recall, you said that I would be begging to be your friend once you became best mates with the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. I don't see me being your friend or begging to be at the moment. If there's one thing that I hate; it's a backstabbing bully! Especially one who tries to humiliate their own sister behind her back!" Harry growled, causing who he assumed were the other Weasley sons to look at Ron with accusing glares.

"B-but, I was only joking! She's my little sister for crying out loud and she has a giant crush on you! You surely don't want a crazy fan-girl hounding you all throughout Hogwarts, right?!" Ron exclaimed with a hint of worry as he tried to convince Harry to give up on Ginny.

"She didn't seem to act like a lot of the people here did when I introduced myself. In fact, she kept herself very composed, unlike you're doing right now," Harry retorted, getting slowly more angry by the second.

"Come on, mate! You'll get nowhere by being her friend, especially now. Look, if you accept my friendship, I'll teach you everything you need to learn about Hogwarts and what it means to be a Gryffindor, ok? You'll need to get rid of that snake though. People might get the wrong idea and start assuming things if it continues to hang around you," Ron carried on, unaware of the anger that flared in Harry.

"I already know whatever you have to teach me. As for getting rid of my _familiar_ , you'll find that it's not something that can be done as she is bound to me. Also, she is a she and her name is Sabrina! Stop calling her an it! You're nothing more than a hypocrite, saying that a snake is automatically evil and therefore I'll become dark by associating myself with one. If it wasn't for Sabrina, I wouldn't be here right now, so think about that before being so quick to judge. If I ever hear you insult Sabrina again, you'll wish that you had your voice box removed as a child!" Harry threatened , almost spitting the words out like they were venom.

Ron seemed to get the hint at last and decided that he would leave and wait to try and befriend Harry another day. Harry finally sighed with relief when Ron left and began to eat at last, giving some smaller pieces of meat to Sabrina, who was very happy with how Harry had defended her and decided to voice her appreciation.

 _~Thank you, my Harry. I must say that you've managed to touch my heart again with the way to defended me. I don't think that I've seen you this angry with someone before, even with Dumbledore~_ Sabrina commented.

 _~I won't allow this foolish prejudice to continue and if that means that I need to make some threats along the way, then so be it. People like Ron should learn that prejudice does nothing but cause more problems and that bullying anyone, especially your own family, is never ok~_ Harry responded vehemently, trying to calm himself down.

 _~Ah, so that's the reason. You're angry because that weasel insult the pretty little girl, huh?~_ Sabrina concluded with an inward chuckle.

 _~Partly, but I am angry about the insults towards you equally. I've never been around someone who has insulted you before, so I guess that I was not fully prepared and let my anger get the better of me there. I'm sorry, Sabrina~_ Harry explained with a hint of regret, thinking that he had upset Sabrina.

 _~Don't apologise to me, my Harry. I think that it's sweet and shows how much you care about me and Ginny. We're clearly very lucky to have someone so quick to come to our defence. By the way, you still haven't told me exactly why you accepted her friendship so quickly and without hesitation. I know how you are when it comes to trusting people, so why her?~_ Sabrina asked, letting her curiosity get the better of her.

 _~I don't know to be perfectly honest. I knew that I would need allies here, but I didn't expect to make real friends. It's just that something about her...I don't know how to explain it, but something about her made me want to trust her. I don't know whether it was her genuine lack of information about this plot against me, her genuine interest in me as Harry Potter, not the 'Boy-Who-Lived', or something else~_ Harry explained, picturing the young girl in his mind with a beaming smile on her face.

 _~I think that little Ginny's crush has a crush on her!~_ Sabrina teased, laughing inwardly.

 _~Don't even try to tease me about this, Sabrina. This is serious~_ Harry scolded Sabrina, with a slight blush on his cheeks.

 _~Fine, fine. Spoil all of my fun, why don't you? I'm just saying that it does sound like you care a lot for her, even though you've only just met. Are you sure that-?~_ Sabrina tried to say before getting cut off.

 _~I don't have a crush on Ginny! She's clearly important, or dangerous with how easily she can get through my defences. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. I can't afford to be getting involved with anyone at the moment anyway. Besides, she's only 10 and I'm 11. I may not have a child's mentality, but she still does. It won't work at the moment~_ Harry interrupted, trying to defend himself.

 _~You can't keep yourself that isolated, my Harry. Just because you can trust her, doesn't make her dangerous. She clearly likes you, so I highly doubt that she would do anything to hurt you. Also, considering what we can assume about her life with her family, I don't think that she has a normal child's mentality either~_ Sabrina argued.

 _~I still can't afford to get her too involved in this. She might get hurt if I get too close to her. A friend is fine, but not what you're thinking. That would only make her an even bigger target than she probably is or will be when she enters Hogwarts. I won't lose anyone because of my mistakes and selfishness~_ Harry retorted, clearly wanting the conversation to end.

 _~Caring about and loving someone is not a mistake or being selfish. As for losing her, you may lose her much sooner than you think if you continue to think like this~_ Sabrina said with sadness.

Harry shrugged Sabrina's last comment off, ending the conversation then and there. Sabrina could only hope that this Ginny girl could bring her Harry out of this dark place. After everything that had happened, she could understand why he was not very trustful, but to still attempt to keep himself closed off to someone who he did trust was something that she couldn't let him do. Maybe, Ginny Weasley would be his saving grace from the darkness that threatened to consume him.

After having his fill, Harry looked up and scanned the professors' table, noticing a rather pale, dark-haired man in long black robes staring at him with an irritated and angry expression on his face. Harry decided to ask one of the Weasley brothers, Percy he believed his name was as he recalled the Weasley matriarch calling each of them by name to go through the pillar at King's Cross, who that man was.

"Say Percy, who's that man over by Professor Quirrell?" Harry enquired.

"Oh, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions. However, he's been after Professor Quirrell's job for years. He's usually very biased towards Slytherin as he's their Head of House, so I'd be careful around him if I were you," Percy answered.

 _~What a great start! Already there's a professor who hates my guts just because I'm not in his house! How can he get away with something like that?!~_ Harry exclaimed.

 _~Likely, it's all part of one of Dumbledore's schemes. However, the way this Snape character looks at you; I think that there's more to it than just the fact that you're not in Slytherin~_ Sabrina replied.

 _~You could be right there. I may need to do some investigating then to find the answer~_ Harry concluded, thinking about how to get information out of the Potions professor.

Eventually, the feast was over and Percy, being one of the Gryffindor prefects, led Harry and the rest of the first years to the Gryffindor common room and told them the password to enter through the Fat Lady's portrait. Percy then addressed them all once they got inside.

"Welcome to the Gryffindor common room. The dormitories are up the staircase behind me. The boys' dormitory is up the stairs to the left and the girls' is the same but to the right. You'll find that you're belongings have already been brought up for you, so I suggest that you go and unpack your things now. Lessons start tomorrow, so make sure to do Gryffindor proud," Percy explained before leaving to find his friends.

Harry was the first to head upstairs and into the boys' dormitory to begin unpacking. To start, he let Hedwig out of her cage and stroked her for a while, apologising for leaving her up here as he didn't know that she would be here alone for so long, which she seemed to accept. As he began to unpack his clothes, he realised that Ron and three other boys had followed him up. As he looked over the boys, he soon recognised them as Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan. They all went to their beds and also began to unpack.

 _~Can I come out now, please? I just want to look around for a little while~_ Sabrina asked.

 _~Alright then, but don't go off too far~_ Harry cautioned.

Sabrina uncoiled and slithered down Harry's arm, slithering onto the bed. She raised her head and began to taste and smell the air before slithering off again to learn about this new environment. The other boys noticed her appearance and instantly jumped onto their beds in fright.

"S-s-s-snake!" Dean screamed.

"H-h-how did it get in here?!" Seamus cried out.

"Because I brought _her_ in!" Harry growled, emphasising Sabrina's gender to show that she was a living, breathing creature.

"B-b-but why?" Neville asked hesitantly, slightly fearful of Harry now.

"Because Sabrina is my familiar. You all should know that a wizard's familiar will always stick around him and they cannot be separated," Harry answered, rolling his eyes at the boy.

"But your owl is your familiar too and owls don't stay around us all of the time!" Ron exclaimed.

"That's because owls are free spirits. They love to fly around, but they never go away from the area that their master is in unless told to by them. In fact, as you are seeing here, Hedwig is very happy with me at the moment. It's only when I let her out that she will go in the first place. As for Sabrina, she's not a bird, so she cannot fly. She slithers around, like she is now, to find out about her surroundings. That is much more dangerous, especially due to her size and some...unsavoury characters...so she usually stays coiled around my arm for protection," Harry explained, looking over the boys are he said 'unsavoury characters', indicating the prejudice and fear they were showing.

"But, if she's your familiar...does that mean...?" Neville asked hesitantly, leaving the question hanging as he feared the answer.

"That I can talk to her? Yes, I can. Is that a problem?" Harry asked, clearly displeased with everyone's reaction.

"B-but, only dark wizards can speak to snakes!" Seamus cried out.

"Really? That's what you think? You'd label a language, of all things, dark just because not many can do it and because it's snake language? I thought that the Wizarding World was prejudiced, but this is just plain foolish! So what? Are you going to call me dark now. "Famous Harry Potter, 'Boy-Who-Lived', has gone dark after getting a snake for a familiar"? What a joke!" Harry chastised, ending the conversation there and then as the boys thought over what he had said about foolish prejudice.

Once Harry finished unpacking, he called Sabrina back to him, who looked at the four boys once more to assess their threat levels to Harry. Seeing them as way too weak to be an issue, she slithered back up onto Harry's bed and coiled up his arm again, making the four boys shudder.

"Sabrina won't hurt any of you just because, alright? As long as you leave me alone, she won't see you as a threat. Her expression clearly shows that she doesn't consider you lot to be a threat to me. Either grow up and toss your prejudices aside, or you will not fare well in the future when you go into the outside world," Harry explained before heading downstairs and leaving the boys alone.


	8. Chapter 8: Letters to a Friend

Chapter 8: Letters to a Friend

Harry stayed in the common room for several minutes, musing to himself as Sabrina had a snooze. Why did he trust Ginny so easily? Ever since he learned about the lies that people spun, he thought that he could never trust anyone but Sabrina ever again. Yet here comes a small, young red-haired girl and turns everything upside-down. He should've thought that something wasn't right. Maybe he was being manipulated by someone. However, the way that Ron and their mother treated her was clearly genuine, as was the way she acted. He knew that he should be extremely cautious of her, yet something about her felt...different. Maybe...trusting her wouldn't be so bad.

Harry was soon taken away from his musings as he noticed someone coming towards him. It was Hermione.

"Hello, Hermione. What can I do for you?" Harry asked politely, hoping that the girl wasn't upset.

"How can you be a Gryffindor?! Gryffindors are supposed to be all good people, yet you now wear their colours!" Hermione exclaimed.

"The Sorting Hat saw traits of all houses in me. Gryffindor felt the most right to the hat, so he picked here. Just because I dislike some people, it doesn't make me dark," Harry answered stoically, not wanting to get into another argument about the prejudices of the Wizarding World. Clearly, Gryffindors were the goody-two-shoes and Slytherins were servants of the darkness from what he had seen and heard so far.

"Yet you dislike Professor Dumbledore, the Leader of the Light and the fight against You-Know-Who in the First Wizarding War, for some stupid reason! You expect me to believe that you're a good person when you have no respect for such a good wizard?!" Hermione ranted.

Clearly, Harry wasn't going to get through to Hermione until she calmed down and didn't worship authority figures like Dumbledore as she seemed to. He got up and started to walk towards the stairs before turning his head back to look her in the eyes to speak.

"Stupid reason, huh? I said before that you would be surprised at my answer, but I don't think that you'd believe me as it would be too shocking for you to realise that he doesn't have anyone's interests at heart but his own," Harry bluntly responded, leaving a shocked and curious Hermione Granger behind him as he went up to his dormitory.

 _~You could've handled that a bit better without sounding rude, you know?~_ Sabrina commented, irritated at being woken up.

 _~I'm sure I could've, but sometimes the blunt truth is the only way to get people to change their attitude. And if you hadn't noticed, she wasn't any kinder with her questioning and prejudice. Seriously, it's almost like they all think that I'm following in Voldemort's footsteps!~_ Harry retorted.

 _~Still, the girl doesn't know any different. She's just come into this world and has automatically been told what's right and wrong, who's the highest authority and who's the greatest man ever. She's got nothing else to go on unless you show her the truth. At least be nicer to her the next time you talk to her. That way, she might warm up to you if you prove her wrong about her own opinion of you~_ Sabrina suggested.

Harry didn't pass another comment as he could see the logic in what Sabrina was saying. When he entered the dormitory, he noticed that the boys were gone and wondered where they'd gone, until he heard voices from where the shower rooms were. Realising that he would still be alone for a while, he went towards his bed to grab a book to read, but stopped when he noticed a letter on Ron's bed, which was just before his.

Harry could see that it was freshly written as the feather quill and ink were still out, which made him curious as to what Ron had wrote. Considering what had recently happened and the suspicions in the back of his mind, Harry decided to have a look at the letter so that he could gather some more information on Ron and his family as well as on the plot against him. He soon wished that he hadn't.

"That rotten, lying piece of filth..." Harry growled under his breath as he read Ron's letter.

 _~What's got you so mad? Let me read it~_ Sabrina asked.

Harry held the letter up so that Sabrina could read it after she poked her head out of his shirt collar. As she began to read, she started to wish that she hadn't.

 _Dear Mum,_

 _You won't believe what's happened here at Hogwarts. Things are so different to what we and Dumbledore thought it would be. Potter's here, but he's nowhere near the weakling that Dumbledore said that he would be! He has extreme confidence in himself, he says that he already knows everything about Hogwarts and he refuses to be friends with me! Not to mention the anger problem that he has! I'm going to tell Dumbledore about this tomorrow and hopefully he'll be able to sort Potter out. How are we supposed to get anything out of him when he dies if he won't be loyal to us like Dumbledore said?! Maybe he can get Snape to brew some loyalty potions and cast compulsion charms on Potter. Anyway, that's not the worst part. Potter said that he talked to Ginny before getting on the train and that he befriended her of all people! He won't be my friend now because I insulted the little brat in front of him! You've got to convince her that I'm his friend now and that he doesn't want anything to do with her anymore. That way, he'll be alone and desperate, then he'll surely be my friend or he'll never have any with the attitude he's got. Maybe we could even let her in on our plan if you manage to make her hate him enough. Just tell her that he insulted her and make some stuff up that'll really screw her up. Anyway, I've got to go and get to know my dorm-mates. The other boys are alright, but they're not really important. Some of them might come in handy though if Potter ever needs to be taught a lesson. Strength in numbers and all that, right?_

 _Bye Mum. Talk to you soon,_

 _Love Ron_

Sabrina was horrified after reading the letter and instantly looked at Harry, who already knew what she was going to demand him to do.

 _~You've got to write a letter to Ginny and send it after Ron's before it's too late, otherwise you'll lose her trust and friendship forever. I can't believe that they would manipulate their own family for their own selfish gain!~_ Sabrina demanded.

 _~Not before I knock some sense into that piece of-!~_ Harry growled as he went towards the bathrooms before Sabrina stopped him.

 _~And you think that beating the boy up will help matters? He'll still send the letter, write more about how angry and then how violent you are, causing the Weasleys and Dumbledore to be more active in their plans against you as well as causing you to lose Ginny for good. You can use this time wisely to write a contradictory letter for Ginny and you'll not only ruin Ron's plan, but you'll make Ginny trust and believe in you even more than she already does as you'll have saved her from her family's manipulations~_ Sabrina explained, using her coils to softly rub Harry's arm to try and calm him down.

After a few seconds, Harry calmed down and agreed with Sabrina before grabbing a parchment and writing a letter to Ginny as he sat on his bed. When he finished writing, he placed a charm on the parchment so that only he and Ginny could read any writing on it.

Ron came back in once Harry finished his letter and gave a him fake smile, which he saw right through as Ron's smile failed to hide his smug expression and attitude. Ron then grabbed his letter and left quickly. Once he was gone, Harry opened the window and gave tied his letter to Hedwig's right leg.

"Now Hedwig, I want you to follow Ron to the Owlery, then follow his owl to the Weasleys' home and give this letter to Ginny. She's the young red-haired girl that we met at King's Cross Station. Make sure that she's the only one in the room when you give her my letter, ok? And stay with her if she writes a reply and bring it to me. I'm counting on you, girl," Harry instructed.

Hedwig nodded in understanding before flying out of the window. She perched on top of the Gryffindor Tower until she spotted Ron come out of the castle and then took flight again as she followed him to the Owlery where she saw him give a letter to a grey owl. The owl then took off as Ron walked back towards the castle. She gave the other owl a bit of a head start, to avoid any suspicion, before taking off herself and following the owl.

After a good few hours of flight, Hedwig made it to the Weasleys' home the next morning and saw the grey owl go inside the kitchen as an older female redhead was awake inside and waiting for it. Fortunately, she didn't see Hedwig as the pure white owl flew up the windows, searching for the young girl that her master was interested in. Eventually, she found the girl just waking up on the top floor and was about to tap on the window before she saw the older woman walk in. Hedwig quickly side-stepped out of view of the woman, but made sure that she could still see what was going on.

Hedwig watched as the woman spoke to the young girl, with each word from the woman's mouth seeming to deflate the girl until she began to cry. The woman then grinned in triumph before leaving the girl alone. As the girl was musing over what she had just heard, her mood became worse as she held her head in her hands. Realising why her master sent her now, Hedwig tapped on the window in the hopes that the girl would notice her and that her master's letter would cheer the girl up.

Ginny couldn't believe what her mother had just told her about what her brother had wrote. Was it true though? Did Harry really not want to be her friend anymore and picked Ron over her? He didn't seem to be the type of person who would do that. Then again, what could she have given him? She was just a silly little girl, just like her mother said. She couldn't be his friend while she was here and he was at Hogwarts. She wasn't mature like he was, so what was the point. She didn't deserve to have a friend like Harry Potter. He was better off with her brother and the other boys and girls his age.

Ginny was then pulled back to reality when she heard a tapping on her window. As she turned her head to see what was causing the noise, she was shocked to see a beautiful snowy owl looking at her. After a few seconds of trying to place the owl, she recognised it as Harry's as he had it at the front of his cart at King's Cross. After what she had just heard, she wondered why he was trying to contact her if he wanted nothing to do with her.

Ginny was resigned to reading a letter from Harry, personally saying that their friendship was over, so she sighed in defeat and hesitantly opened the window to let the owl in to give her the final confirmation. The owl seemed to sense her distress and rubbed its head against her shoulder in an attempt to calm her as it held out its right leg for her to take the letter.

Ginny untied the letter and opened it. What she read was certainly not what she was expecting and made her fume in rage at her family.

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _I'm sure that your wonderful mother has read Ron's charming letter to you by now, well rather skipped the main part of it and done what he asked her to do, and you think that it's true and you probably hate me, but don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth or that he writes about me. He's a liar of the worst sort! Your mother probably said that we're best buddies and that I didn't need you anymore. You'd soon change your mind if you read his letter yourself. Do you know the first thing that he talked about on the train? How weird and creepy you were and that you'd never have any friends, and especially male friends because you're a girl. If there's anything I hate; it's a backstabber, and a backstabbing family member is ten times worse. I defended you and he stormed off, saying that I'd be begging to be his friend when he was best mates with the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. Too bad that I happen to be this all-powerful celebrity that he spoke of. So he then tried to buddy up with me and give me some 'advice', which I completely denied. He's nothing but a whiny, prejudiced brat who cried to Mummy because he didn't get what he wanted because you did instead. He thought that he could get away with lying to you in the hopes that you'd hate me and get involved in their scheme against me to take everything I own for theirs and Dumbledore's selfish gain. That's right, I said Dumbledore. I found out before I came to Hogwarts that Dumbledore had been responsible for sending me to my relatives against my parents' wishes, that he had placed numerous blocks on my core to half my magical power because he knew that I would be more powerful than him among other things. It turns out that he was right as the goblins took a reading and realised that once the blocks were gone, I would have a Magical Power Level of over 100,000. What I'm trying to tell you is that you can't trust your brother, your mother and especially not Dumbledore. They're trying to use you and control us both to use as pawns in their sick, disgusting chess game. One day, I'm going to end the darkness that surrounds us, but I want you by my side as my friend-maybe sometimes more in the future-and I don't want you to doubt yourself anymore. I don't trust easily. To be plainly honest, it still shocks me how I trust you like I do and I'd be lying if I said that it didn't concern me, but I said that I wanted to be your friend and I will not go against that. I will never choose you over someone else just to have another friend. Never think of yourself as anything less than what you are; a wonderful person._

 _Love Harry_

 _P.S. This parchment, and all the others I will send to you, is charmed so that only we can read off of it. Everyone else will just see a blank parchment. Please write your response on the back and give it back to Hedwig to send to me. I hope that you believe me, but if you truly don't want to be friends with me anymore, then just tell me and I won't send anything else. You deserved to know the truth, even if you don't believe it._

Ginny was furious after reading Harry's letter. Not at him. Certainly not at him. No, she was furious at her mother and her brother for trying to manipulate her. If she was going to believe anyone, it would be Harry as he took the time to correct her brother's lies and, as she thought previously, he didn't appear to be anything less than genuine when he accepted her friendship in the first place. If anything. Add in the fact that he seemed to want to stay well away from her mother as if she were the plague and it made her realise that he wasn't a fan of her mother, and would especially not be a fan of her brother as the two were very alike.

Ginny was soon snapped out of her rage when her mother came back in and noticed her looking at the parchment. What her mother said next helped to further prove that Harry wasn't lying to her in his letter.

"Ginny, dear? Why are you looking at that blank parchment as if it was the worst thing in the world?" Ginny's mother asked curiously.

Ginny suppressed her urge to lash out at her mother, but knew that doing so would only cause more trouble, so she steeled her features and put on a fake smile before responding.

"I'm just frustrated, Mum. I just want to write something down, but I can't think of what to write to start with. Don't worry about me. I'm fine," Ginny replied, trying to come across as calm as possible.

Ginny's training with her 'innocent' look after she performed a prank seemed to have paid off as her mother fell for it and nodded before leaving with a smile on her face.

Hedwig, who had quickly hidden behind Ginny's wardrobe when her mother arrived, flew over to the girl and tapped her on the shoulder, gesturing to her leg in an attempt to get the girl to write a reply to her master.

Ginny understood what Harry's owl was trying to ask and quickly wrote a letter on the other side of the parchment before tying it to the owl's leg.

"You have a very kind master, you know? Make sure you look out for him for me, ok?" Ginny asked.

Harry's owl seemed to understand Ginny as it nodded before she let it go out the window and back to him. Now, she could only hope that she'd be able to correspond more with him as she figured out how to get revenge against her mother and her brother.

During this time with Harry; he was pacing down the room, thinking about whether Ginny would believe his letter or her brother's and hate him. All of this didn't help his already sour mood after reading Ron's letter, causing his magic to crackle around him. Seeing that this wouldn't be good if any of the boys caught sight of Harry, she tried to get his attention and calm him down.

 _~Pacing around all night and working yourself up isn't going to make anything better or go your way, you know?~_ Sabrina stated.

 _~And you think that I'm just going to be calm and collected while my only human friend is being manipulated by her oh-so-loving family?!~_ Harry retorted angrily.

 _~Don't lash out at me with your sarcasm and anger, my Harry. I'm not to one who's caused you grief~_ Sabrina responded calmly.

 _~You're right, Sabrina. I'm sorry. It's just that...I can't help it! It makes me so angry that she should be able to trust these people, yet they're taking advantage of her! Hell_ I _should be able to trust many of the people in this world, apparently, and yet they've already tried to hinder me and control me! It makes me sick!~_ Harry growled.

 _~I know, my Harry, but you need to stay calm. You can't let them get to you or all of our plans will be for nothing. Besides, I highly doubt that Ginny will believe that pathetic brat of a boy over you. She seemed to be ecstatic at the thought of having a real friend, especially to have you as her friend. Why would she give that up if you're still offering it?~_ Sabrina explained logically.

 _~Good point...but it still doesn't change what they tried to do. No matter what happens, whether she believes me or not, I'll make them pay~_ Harry promised.

 _~I have a feeling that you'll have to beat her to it~_ Sabrina said.

 _~I hope you're right on that. I just wish that it didn't take so long to wait to find out. Why did Hogwarts have to be up in Scotland of all places?~_ Harry commented.

 _~Who knows? All I know is that you need to get to bed and rest. Lessons start tomorrow and you'll need the energy. It's time to show everyone what you're made of~_ Sabrina said.

With that, Harry went into the shower rooms as well and got clean up and ready for bed. When he returned to the dorm room, he saw that Ron was back, but was already fast asleep. Grateful for not having to put up with the boy's attempts at friendship, Harry got into his bed and went off to sleep with Sabrina sleeping wrapped around his arm.

 **A/N: I apologise to some for how Hermione is portrayed at the moment, but she will mellow out soon and she and Harry will actually become friends earlier than simply Halloween after she has an epiphany about Harry. Don't worry guys, Hermione will still be Harry's best friend.**


	9. Chapter 9: First Lessons

Chapter 9: First Lessons

Harry woke up the next morning apparently early as none of the other boys were up yet. He took this opportunity to get in the showers first and get ready before leaving the dorm and heading into the common room. He first thought that he was alone, until he saw a figure in one of the couches facing the fireplace. It was Hermione.

 _~I think that you best talk to her and apologise for being rude yesterday~_ Sabrina said.

Harry merely nodded and walked up to Hermione and saw that she was reading some of the Hogwarts textbooks.

"You're up early," Harry stated.

Hermione looked around startled, then scowled as she saw that it was Harry who had interrupted her studying time.

"I could say the same about you. What are you doing up?" Hermione questioned.

"Seems like the others here like to sleep in, unlike the two of us. Let's just say that you wouldn't like the reason why I'm so used to waking up early," Harry replied.

"You always give that answer; 'I won't like what I hear'. Why won't I like it?! You make everything sound like they'll cause more harm than good! Why won't you just talk?! Surely Professor-!" Hermione was about to say before being cut off by Harry.

"If you were about to say the Headmaster's name, then don't even finish! It's because of him that I have most of my problems, so don't even think for one second that I'd regale him with any tales that would just amuse him!" Harry growled in anger.

"What are you talking about? He's the Leader of the Light! Your parents were close to him and trusted him! Why don't you after everything he's done for us?!" Hermione questioned angrily.

"Keyword: _were_. After everything that I've found out, he's done little to gain my trust and my parents would certainly not trust him anymore; alive or dead," Harry answered.

"And what exactly have you found out, oh great and wise Harry Potter?" Hermione enquired with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"You know what? I was going to apologise to you this morning for being rude yesterday about cryptic answers and I would've explained this stuff to you. As it so happens, I'm starting to regret thinking it as you clearly only think of me as everyone else does. The Great Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, the One-Who-Conquered-The-Dark-Lord. That's all I am to you lot, aren't I?! Some bloody celebrity name that you can all hide behind, create a false friendship with and use to do your dirty work! Do none of you realise that I was only a baby that night?! That my parents died to save my life! I watched my mother die in front of my own eyes and no-one gives a crap about that! All you see is some boy that you can use to get some status in your lives! Well guess what?! I am no-one's puppet! I am a human being just like the rest of you! So get over your stupid stereotype and actually look for a change instead of blindly following and listening to what is fed to you!" Harry erupted, panting after finally getting the pent-up rage out at last.

Hermione merely sat back in her couch utterly terrified...and a little bit guilty. The power radiating off of Harry was overwhelming to her. It was like a raging inferno, that she had finally set off. How could she have forgotten all of that while she stood there and judged him based on all of those books, that weren't actually legitimate, that never even mentioned the sacrifice that the Potters made for their only son. He had to live his life away from the magical world without his parents, and possibly without the truth about their deaths either.

Harry took some deep breaths before realising what he had done. He couldn't believe that he exploded like that in front of Hermione. He was trying to be civil and maybe even befriend her as he could tell that they both needed someone to talk to at Hogwarts, then he just went and screwed everything up by yelling at her about his hatred of the Wizarding World.

"I'm sorry...I don't-I-" Harry tried to say before storming out of the common room before he said anything that could make it worse.

 _~Well...that went swimmingly~_ Sabrina said sarcastically.

 _~I don't need your lectures or snide comments now. I already know that I've probably butchered any chance of befriending Hermione~_ Harry hissed.

 _~Are you so sure? That girl can be extremely curious I think. She'll likely be picking out everything you just said and want to know more about your thoughts now. You do pretty much realise that you've finally given her an honest answer for once about your opinion on the Wizarding World? Even if it was during one of your outbursts~_ Sabrina explained.

 _~I highly doubt that she'll talk to me now. She's afraid of me. I could tell. Heck, she might even go to Dumbledore and ask for help if I'm not careful~_ Harry replied.

 _~And back to paranoia and self-doubt. Yes, she was afraid of you. Who wouldn't be after witnessing your unhinged power first-hand? But there was also a spark of curiosity in her eyes. And realisation. I think you'll find that you haven't heard the last of Hermione Granger yet, my Harry. And don't worry about Dumbledore. She seems too curious about you to risk losing the chance to study you herself~_ Sabrina explained slyly.

Harry didn't say anything else after that and continued on his way to the Great Hall. When he entered the Hall, he found that he was the first student to arrive, which seemed to shock many of the professors who were already at their table. He assumed that they expected the students to all arrive together or in groups at a time.

Harry then took a seat at the Gryffindor table and, since he was first there, he had first pick of what to eat for breakfast. McGonagall soon came over and handed him his timetable for the week. Looking at his timetable, he saw that he had all of the basic lessons today, with Potions being a double lesson. Interestingly, the main house that Gryffindor seemed to be paired with was Slytherin. This confused Harry greatly as it was quite obvious that Gryffindor and Slytherin were rival houses and seemingly hated each other. Then again, Dumbledore likely did it deliberately to keep the rivalry alive for his own reasons.

Soon, the rest of the student body filed in and sat at their respective house tables to have breakfast. Typically, Ron decided to try his hand at befriending Harry again, much to the latter's annoyance.

"Hey mate! How come you were up so early? You were gone before we even woke up," Ron asked.

"I always wake up early. Force of habit, I guess. I thought it'd be best to just go and let you guys sleep in," Harry replied.

"You could've just waited in the common room, you know? Then you could've come down with us instead of on your own," Ron said.

"I preferred to just come down here while I still had first pick of food. Besides, I've finished eating already. I'll see you in our first lesson," Harry replied before getting up and walking out, much to the shock of the Gryffindors around him.

 _~That was a quick exit. What's wrong? No sarcastic remark for Ronnie-kins?~_ Sabrina asked playfully.

 _~I didn't really want to deal with his attempts of fake friendship this morning, Sabrina~_ Harry replied bluntly.

 _~You're still beating yourself up about Hermione?~_ Sabrina enquired.

 _~I don't need this conversation right now~_ Harry responded, irritated at how well Sabrina was reading him.

 _~Is that how you're going to cope with this? By shutting everyone out? You need to open up to that girl, my Harry. You'll find that Hermione will appreciate the full truth more than just cryptic replies. You told Ginny the truth~_ Sabrina retorted.

 _~I did that because if I didn't, she wouldn't understand and believe me~_ Harry replied in irritation.

 _~And don't you think that Hermione would understand and believe you if you told her the truth? Face it, you worried that she will tell Dumbledore what you know because she initially praised him like everyone else. She doesn't exactly know any better, does she? Only what she's currently been told which is that Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of the age and is the Leader of the Light. What do you think is going through her mind since you told her that Dumbledore is the cause of your problems? The Leader of the Light has done more harm than good for the Wizarding World's Saviour? Not a good headline, is it?~_ Sabrina explained.

 _~I guess not...Anyway, we have other matters to deal with at the moment, like getting the my first lesson~_ Harry said, changing the subject.

 _~This conversation isn't over, my Harry. You can't run away from this~_ Sabrina stated.

Harry was glad that Sabrina had finally dropped this, for now at least. He didn't need to be reminded of his foolish outburst. All it did was provide fuel for the fire. He didn't want anyone to know too much about him. Now Ginny knew of Dumbledore's betrayal of him and Hermione knew of his hatred for Dumbledore and the Wizarding World in general.

Harry then steeled himself and purged his mind of such thoughts as he walked towards the Transfiguration classroom for his first lesson. When he got inside, he found a seat and brought out the Transfiguration textbook for first years and began to read it again to refresh his memory.

After a while, Harry noticed a tabby cat, that almost seemed surprised by his presence, walk down between the student desks and jump up onto the McGonagall's desk. He found it strange as he hadn't seen any tabby cats around and would've been expecting McGonagall soon as he assumed that everyone had finished breakfast by now. He also found it odd that the cat was surprised by him, as if it didn't expect him there. A normal cat wouldn't think twice at seeing a person anywhere. Sabrina had told him about people who could transform into animals before. Could it be...?

 _~That cat doesn't smell right...It smells human...~_ Sabrina stated.

 _~Human? Then that means that it's an animagus!~_ Harry exclaimed.

 _~Exactly. I think that you found out where McGonagall is~_ Sabrina confirmed.

Harry then grinned and walked up to McGonagall's desk and looked at her cat form with a knowing smile.

"You can change back now, Professor. I know that it's you," Harry said.

McGonagall's cat eyes widened before she transformed back into her human form. McGonagall was initially shocked at Harry's ability to determine her identity, but she soon showed how impressed she was.

"Not many students have been able to figure that out before. I'm very impressed. May I ask how you determined that I was the cat?" McGonagall enquired.

"I was expecting you to appear before the rest of the students so I was initially surprised at seeing your animagus form instead as I haven't seen many cats around. Of course, you did betray yourself, Professor, as I saw the surprise in your eyes at seeing me here first. Then of course, you jumped onto your desk. Another sign of your identity. I then had it confirmed when my familiar could smell your human scent on your animagus form," Harry explained eloquently.

"So you know what an animagus is? Very good. I shall award 10 points to Gryffindor for your correct identification and knowledge. However, what was it that you said about your familiar smelling my scent?" McGonagall asked.

"It's thanks to my familiar that I know of animagi. She has a very keen sense of smell, so would have no problem with distinguishing between the scents of different animals and individuals," Harry explained.

"Where is your familiar? I thought that your owl, Hedwig as Hagrid told me, was and she isn't here. It isn't part of the school list to have more than one pet," McGonagall questioned.

"She isn't a pet. She's a friend, as is Hedwig. As for where she is, she's coming out of my shirt to greet you now," Harry replied with a grin.

Sabrina heard Harry and also grinned before slithering up his arm and peeking out of his shirt collar, scaring McGonagall as the professor didn't expect to see a snake on the Boy-Who-Lived at all.

"A s-s-snake?! That's your familiar?!" McGonagall asked in fright and shock.

"Yes, her name is Sabrina. I've known her since I was young. We've been inseparable ever since," Harry replied.

"C-can you-?" McGonagall was about to ask before being cut off by Harry.

"Speak to her? Yes, I can. Not sure why though as I don't recall anyone in my family being able to speak to snakes according to what I've heard," Harry said.

Soon, voices of the students could be heard coming from the corridors. It was finally time for the lesson to begin it seemed.

"That will be all, Potter. You best take your seat before your classmates enter. I ask that you don't say anything about my animagus form, alright? I do love to have some fun with the students on the first day," McGonagall said with a smile before transforming back into a cat and jumping onto her desk.

Harry smiled back and took his seat just before the students filed in and also took their seats, whispering between themselves about the appearance of the cat on McGonagall's desk and the apparent disappearance of her. While the students continued to whisper and theorise about McGonagall's location, Harry and Sabrina were having a quiet, almost inaudible conversation themselves.

 _~Was that a good idea to reveal me and your status as a Parselmouth to McGonagall? Aren't you worried that she'll tell Dumbledore?~_ Sabrina questioned.

 _~I'm counting on it~_ Harry replied with a grin.

 _~Feeding the old man information to make him think that he's one step ahead, are you?~_ Sabrina asked.

 _~Exactly. If McGonagall tells Dumbledore about our conversation, he'll try and confront me and separate us, which he will not be able to do, giving me something to hang over him later on. Also, I suspect that he already knows about me being a Parselmouth, but by implying that I don't know the actual name of snake language and that I don't know much about my family history will make Dumbledore think that he has information that he can use to gain my trust and control me if he hangs onto it and tells me later if I ask for answers~_ Harry explained.

 _~Good plan. The old man's going to be in for a shock when you reveal that you already knew everything~_ Sabrina said.

 _~He won't know anything until the very end and it'll be too late for him to do anything to stop me~_ Harry responded.

Just as Harry and Sabrina finished their talk, someone sat next to Harry, startling him slightly as he didn't expect anyone to sit by him as every desk seemed to be filled. As he looked over to see who it was, he saw Hermione giving him a quizzical look as she raised her eyebrow.

"You don't seem too interested in Professor McGonagall's disappearance or the cat on her desk. Do you have an idea about what's going on?" Hermione asked quietly.

"As much as I would like to tell you, it would only spoil the fun. Just know that Professor McGonagall won't be leaving us hanging for too long," Harry answered with a smile.

As soon as Harry said that, running footsteps could be heard coming towards the classroom as Ron entered and panted from the running that he had done.

"Phew! Made it! Where's old McGonagall?! I thought that I was going to be late!" Ron exclaimed.

As soon as Ron finished saying 'late', McGonagall jumped off of her desk and transformed before walking up to Ron as he made it to the desks. Everyone then applauded at her stunt, making her blush slightly at the students' enthusiasm.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron exclaimed bluntly.

"Well thank you for that assessment, Mr Weasley. Perhaps it may have been good to transfigure your hand into a pocket watch? Then you may have been on time," McGonagall said.

"I-I got lost," Ron stammered.

"Then perhaps a map instead? There's an empty seat next to Mr Thomas. I trust you don't need a map to find it," McGonagall responded before walking back to her desk as everyone chuckled at Ron's expense.

"Did you know that Professor McGonagall was going to do that?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. I caught her as she came in as her cat form," Harry answered.

"I guess that I'm glad that you didn't tell me straight away. It would've indeed spoiled the reveal," Hermione said.

Harry nodded in response, but it seemed as though Hermione had one last question before McGonagall started the lesson.

"How did you figure it out then? It's not common knowledge for first years that Professor McGonagall was an animagus," Hermione enquired.

"The fact that a random tabby cat would jump onto her desk was one factor. The cat's surprise at seeing me was another. My familiar confirming it via scent was the final factor," Harry answered.

"Familiar?" Hermione questioned.

Unfortunately, or fortunately for Hermione and Harry respectively, McGonagall began the lesson then, so the class became silent as she introduced Transfiguration and set some tasks for the class to do. The tasks ranged from changing some parts of an item to changing the entire item into something else.

Harry found that he had no problem with transfiguring his items with his Holly wand and that his Hazel wand produced quicker results. However, he only tested his Hazel wand underneath his desk while no-one watched him. It wasn't common to have multiple wands, after all, and he didn't want to have more questions asked about himself.

Everyone else was struggling, apart from Hermione, who was able to do the partial transfigurations, but was still having some trouble with the full transfigurations. Eventually, her curiosity defeated her pride and she asked Harry for help and advice.

"How did you manage to do your transfigurations so effortlessly? No-one else but you and I have done any and I can't seem to get a full transfiguration to work," Hermione questioned irritably.

"Don't try to control your magic," Harry replied.

"Excuse me? How can we perform magic if we don't control it?" Hermione asked, not completely believing what Harry had said.

"You can't fully control magic as it is a form of energy that surrounds us all. We, as witches and wizards, can harness the ability to perform feats of magic, but we cannot fully control it. We have to let it flow through us and ask it to help us rather than make it do what we want it to do. If you relax yourself and let magic flow through you, the best results can only follow," Harry explained.

Hermione looked sceptical, but followed Harry's advice anyway, letting herself drift off for a moment to relax her mind before attempting to perform the spell again. To her astonishment and amazement, the transfiguration worked just as Harry had said it would.

McGonagall then came over to see Harry and Hermione's progress and was amazed to see that both students had completed all of the tasks that she had set.

"How did you manage to do this? Not many students have been able to complete all of my tasks before. What are your secrets?" McGonagall enquired.

"It was Harry who helped me, Professor. He said to let magic flow through us and ask it to help us. When I relaxed myself, I finally managed to finish the tasks. He had already completed them all on his first attempt!" Hermione explained, clearly in awe of Harry's talent.

 _~And you thought that she would hate you. This doesn't sound like hate to me~_ Sabrina teased.

Harry didn't reply as he was being watched and didn't want to draw public attention to his ability to speak Parseltongue just yet. After Hermione finished explaining, McGonagall's expression softened as she began to smile and praise the two of them.

"Then I believe that congratulations are in order. Well done to both of you! I shall award 10 points to Gryffindor for completing all of the tasks and an extra 10 points to Mr Potter for successfully helping a fellow classmate," McGonagall said before turning and walking around the classroom again to see whether anyone else completed any of her tasks.

Hermione was beaming at Harry after McGonagall's praise while Harry was internally debating whether it was good or bad that Hermione revealed his skill in magic. She didn't do it deliberately to annoy him, that much was certain from the awe in her voice.

 _~It would've come out sooner or later, my Harry. This way, it will force many people to rethink their opinions of you and make them realise that you are not to be underestimated~_ Sabrina stated reassuringly.

Harry nodded in understanding as he caught Hermione glancing at him again. He decided to try and talk to her as it was obvious that she wanted to say something.

"You keep looking at me. Is there something you wish to say to me?" Harry whispered.

"I just wanted to thank you for helping me. You heard what Professor McGonagall said; not many students complete all of her tasks. You're rather talented it seems," Hermione whispered in reply.

Harry nodded in response before reading up on the next spells that they would learn as he stored the theory in his mind and pictured him performing the spell. It seemed as though Hermione had the same idea as she also began to read up on the next spells for the week.

After a while, McGonagall dismissed the class as the lesson was over and the students made their way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Nothing much happened during this lesson, practically speaking. Harry was getting extremely bored of the lesson by the end of it as he had already read up on the theory of the Dark Arts and the types of spells for combat, so having a stammering Quirrell explain it all again at a quarter of Harry's reading speed wasn't enjoyable.

Harry spent his time watching Quirrell instead and trying to determine his true nature and mannerisms while trying to figure out what he might do at Hogwarts. Would he be involved in Quirrell's plan? If Voldemort was influencing Quirrell, then it wouldn't be a surprise if Harry found himself involved in this in the end.

Eventually, the lesson ended and the students grudgingly, apart from the Slytherins, went to the Dungeons for their first double Potions. Considering that Potions was taught by Snape, Harry had a very bad feeling about how the lesson would play out. He was certainly glad that he had already read up about all of the first year potions so shouldn't have trouble in following any steps if Snape wasn't very...helpful.

When the students arrived, they took their seats and waited for a few minutes before Snape finally entered. Snape blew the door open and walked up to his desk as his robe billowed behind him. Harry found this to be rather overdramatic for his tastes and looked around to see everyone either in awe or fearful. Well, Snape certainly achieved his goals of making a grand entrance, at least in most people's eyes anyway.

Snape soon began an obviously prepared speech to try and make himself and Potions seem to be the most important thing in the world before he locked eyes with Harry, who had been expecting a confrontation since seeing the hatred in the man's eyes at the feast after the Sorting Ceremony.

"Mr Potter...Our new celebrity...Tell me, Mr Potter, what potion contains powdered root of asphodel and infusion of Wormwood as ingredients?" Snape questioned with a small smirk.

It was obvious to Harry that Snape didn't expect him to know the answer. The potion in question was Draught of Living Death, which the students would not attempt to do until their sixth year as it was an advanced potion to make. They wouldn't even learn about the theory of it until late this year. Hardly the sort of thing to ask a first year student about on the first day. It was time to teach someone else not to underestimate him it seemed.

"Draught of Living Death, sir," Harry answered, trying his best to sound as polite as possible.

"Where would you look into if I ask you to find me a bezoar?" Snape asked as the smirk vanished.

"In the stomach of a goat, sir," Harry replied stoically.

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape asked again, getting more irritated as Harry kept answering his questions.

"There isn't one. They are the same plant. Another name for them is aconite," Harry replied, adding the last part to further annoy Snape and show off his knowledge.

"I don't know how you know all of this, Potter, but I will find out. One day, you will slip up. Now, everyone turn to page 137 and complete the potion by the end of the lesson. Begin!" Snape threatened before walking behind his desk to observe the students stumbling to open their books and get their ingredients.

Once again, Harry found that he was paired off with Hermione. This did have its benefits, of course, as they would hopefully complete the potion early and get off of here as quickly as possible. He subtly placed a protective shield charm over their cauldron as he could see Malfoy and his cronies eying them from across the room and he didn't want to have any problems that Snape could use for his advantage, Harry's fault or not.

As Harry thought, the combined work of both him and Hermione allowed them to complete the potion without any problems and in time before the lesson ended. When Snape came over to check their potion, he sneered as he saw nothing wrong with it whatsoever, which irritated him further.

"I swear that I will find out how you cheated, Potter. You two are dismissed!" Snape bellowed as he turned away to check on the other students.

Harry glared at Snape as he found the man's childish behaviour to be rather stupid, but packed up his things and left as quickly as he could with Hermione as he didn't want to spend any more time in that classroom than necessary.

"Why does Professor Snape seem to think that you were cheating? You weren't, were you?" Hermione enquired.

"Of course not. Reading ahead is supposed to be encouraged, at least by most professors it seems. Did you not notice the way he looked at me as he began his questioning?" Harry responded, giving Hermione some time to think.

"Now that you mention it...He had a weird smirk on his face as if he had just won something. But why would he think that he had won something?" Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Because he didn't expect me to answer his questions correctly, if answer at all. After all, I haven't been in the Wizarding World for so long, so why would I know anything if my only contact was when Hagrid arrived to take me to Diagon Alley to get my school supplies? Simply put, he was trying to bait me into humiliating myself. Instead, it backfired on him. Clearly, he doesn't like being shown up, but has no problem in showing someone else up. He can't take what he dishes out basically," Harry explained.

"But why would he be like that? He's a Hogwarts Professor! He should be helping us!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Remember what I told you before about learning about things for yourself? This is what I meant. Snape is a prime example of why you can't believe everything you hear. Just because he's a professor, it doesn't mean that he will help everyone. It's common knowledge that he hates everyone who isn't a Slytherin and he clearly holds a distinctive grudge against me for some reason. I intend to find out why," Harry explained.

Hermione seemed to begin to think over his words as she became silent for the rest of their journey towards the greenhouses to be ready for when their first Herbology lesson started. When the students and Professor Sprout arrived to start the lesson, Harry and Hermione joined them and listened to Sprout talk about some of the plants that they would be studying this year as well as take them all on a tour around the greenhouses, pointing out any plants of interest.

When the Herbology lesson was over, the students all made their way to Charms, where they, once again, learnt about the theory of charms from Professor Flitwick and practiced wrist movements that they would use when cast charms. Only one lesson was left now; the first Flying lesson.

 **A/N: And so begins the basis for Harry and Hermione's friendship. I hope that Harry's outburst wasn't too much, but I felt that it would be the only thing that could get Hermione to rethink Harry's attitude and become intrigued by him with how I've portrayed her. I'm just going to do some fine tuning to chapter 10, then I'll upload it and complete and upload chapters one at a time. See you soon guys.**


	10. Chapter 10: A Flying Lesson and Plans

Chapter 10: A Flying Lesson and Plans

As everyone made their way to the field where the Flying lesson was going to be taught, many students began to talk about their experiences with flying a broom and how they wanted to make some good impressions to get on the house teams. Harry, on the other hand, was not really bothered about flying at the moment. First years weren't allowed to be on their Quidditch house teams anyway, which suited Harry fine as he didn't have a place for Quidditch in his plan for his Hogwarts education.

Madam Hooch, the Quidditch referee at Hogwarts, was there to greet them and give them their Flying lesson.

"Good afternoon, everyone! Welcome to your first Flying lesson! Well, what are you waiting for?! Put your right hand over your broom and say up!" Madam Hooch ordered.

The students all began to struggle to get their brooms to float up into their hands, except for Harry. As usual, he was able to do the task first time and his broom flew into his hand as he grasped it firmly.

Ron started to get frustrated with his broom and shouted at it before it flew up and hit him in the face, amusing Harry greatly. Soon, everyone finally managed to get their brooms in their hands, so Madam Hooch could continue the lesson.

"Now, I want you to mount your brooms. When I give the signal, I want you to push off from the ground hard, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly and touch back down. On my whistle...3...2...1...Go!" Madam Hooch ordered as she blew her whistle.

As soon as the whistle blew, Neville began to hover in the air. The problem was that he didn't seem to be able to control his broom, which soon sped him off around the area, knocking him against the walls. Madam Hooch tried to stop the broom, but it shot into the crowd, causing everyone to dive away.

Eventually, the broom flew towards one of the walls and Neville's robe got caught on one of the statues. The broom had flown well away by the time that Neville's robe rips, sending him falling to the ground. Thankfully, his robe caught on a steel lantern, stopping his fall so he didn't drop down too far in the end. Everyone then ran over to Neville and Madam Hooch checked him over to see if he had sustained any injuries. Unfortunately, Neville had broken his arm from the fall and had bruises on his arms and legs from the broom's erratic behaviour.

"Now, I will take Mr Longbottom to the Hospital Wing. Class is dismissed! Leave the brooms here and if I catch anyone riding one, they'll find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can say Quidditch," Madam Hooch ordered before walking away with Neville.

Harry would've thought that everyone would be doing as Madam Hooch ordered, until he noticed Malfoy kneel and pick something up from the ground, broom still in hand, before sneering and talking to his cronies loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Looks like the idiot dropped his Remembrall! Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze; he would've remembered to listen to his teacher and control his broom! Then again, he would've also remembered to fall on his flat arse and then he would've have needed saving due to falling head first!" Malfoy sneered.

As Malfoy and his cronies began to laugh at Neville's expense, the other students there either looked at them with anger or disgust, but didn't show any attempts at confronting him. Harry was having none of that though. If there was another thing that he hated; then it was a pompous bully. He walked right up to Malfoy and held his hand out with a blank expression on his face that most people with a brain would realise that he meant business. Malfoy, unfortunately, didn't realise this.

"Give the Remembrall here Malfoy so I can take it back to its rightful owner," Harry demanded.

"No...I think I'll leave it for Longbottom to find...Like on the roof!" Malfoy sneered as he mounted his broom and flew up into the air, "What's the matter, Potter?! Bit beyond the reach of the 'Boy-Who-Lived'?!"

That did it. Harry saw red as he mounted his broom, ready to go after the blond fool before Hermione stepped in to try and stop him.

"Harry, wait! You heard what Madam Hooch said! She'll get you expelled if she catches you in the air! You don't even know how to fly either! You'll get yourself hurt!" Hermione cried, trying to get Harry to see reason.

"And what would you have me do, Hermione?! Let Malfoy win and gloat about besting me while throwing Neville's Remembrall away somewhere where he may never find it?! No! I'm going to make him regret even thinking of doing that to Neville!" Harry retorted angrily as he mounted his broom and flew up to be level with Malfoy after only a couple of seconds.

Everyone was amazed by Harry's instantaneous control over his broom as they saw him seem even more comfortable than Malfoy on his broom.

"I'd suggest that you give up and give the Remembrall to me now, Malfoy. I won't hesitate to do what I say," Harry warned.

"And what do you say, Potter?" Malfoy sneered, not understanding Harry.

"If you don't give up, I will knock you off your broom," Harry stated bluntly.

"Is that so? I'm afraid that I decline your offer," Malfoy replied with a laugh, not believing in Harry's conviction.

"Then so be it..." Harry said.

Harry then shot forward and grabbed the front of Malfoy's broom before turning and hurtling back down to the ground along with Malfoy. As a last ditch effort, Malfoy threw the Remembrall as hard as he could to try and get it to go far away and change the target of Harry's attention. Unfortunately, this only made Harry angrier as he went faster and threw the broom down to the ground before heading back up into the air after the Remembrall.

Malfoy's broom hit the ground and flung him across the field until he finally landed sprawled out on the ground. Harry did have a glance back and grinned as he saw the blond on the floor before focusing on the Remembrall again. Sabrina also poked her head out of his collar and saw Malfoy.

 _~You could've handled that better, you know? What if he tells someone what you did? You could still get into trouble for attacking another student~_ Sabrina chastised.

 _~He won't say anything. With how prideful he is, there's no way that he'd let people think that he was weak. It won't be the last time we see him, but this may just make him stay away, for now~_ Harry responded.

 _~If only it would be so easy with Ron~_ Sabrina commented.

 _~Malfoy isn't the one being forced to befriend me though, is he?~_ Harry retorted.

 _~Good point. Anyway, you best hurry and catch that ball. Malfoy had a good arm on him and the ball's heading straight for that tower~_ Sabrina said.

At those words, Harry sped off until he was just close enough to reach out and grab the Remembrall, managing to do a U-turn and 180 degree spin to right himself just before hitting the tower. He then slowly flew back down to the ground where all of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were cheering for him. Malfoy and the Slytherins, however, were livid as Harry had successfully showed Malfoy up in front of everyone. Unfortunately, the celebration was cut short as a booming voice could be heard from the nearest entrance into the castle.

"Harry Potter! Follow me inside, please!" McGonagall's voice rang out across the field.

The Slytherins began to smirk as they watched Harry walk over to McGonagall, thinking that he was going to get in trouble for flying unattended, meaning that Malfoy had the final laugh. Harry ignored them and looked over at Hermione, who had a worried expression on her face. He smiled at her nodded his head to try and make her feel less concerned before he turned back towards McGonagall and went inside with her.

"Before you say what you wish to say, Professor, can we deliver Neville's Remembrall back to him in the Hospital Wing first? He dropped it as his broom went out of control-" Harry began to ask before being cut off by McGonagall.

"I am well aware of what happened, Potter. I did watch you catch it after Mr Malfoy threw it away as you were bringing him back down. I take it that you were trying to get it off of him before he flew up with it?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, Professor. He began to insult Neville and I asked him, politely, to hand Neville's Remembrall over so that we could give it back to him. He refused and threatened to throw it on the roof. I told him that either he gave it back or I would ground him. You saw the rest," Harry explained.

"Quite. Even though you're intentions were noble, using violence should never be the answer, Potter. I think that it should be 5 points from Gryffindor for use of violence, but then 10 points to Gryffindor for defending a fellow classmate. As for giving Mr Longbottom his Remembrall back, you may do so after I finish my business. And don't worry, I will be having words with Professor Snape and Mr Malfoy over his behaviour and giving the necessary punishment," McGonagall replied.

Harry was actually surprised that his actions had technically given Gryffindor a net 5 points increase and hadn't landed him in detention. However, even with his surprise, he wasn't blind to subtle excited expression on McGonagall's face. She was planning something. But it didn't seem like it was going to mean bad news for him after all.

Eventually, McGonagall led Harry to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, confusing him as he wondered what business she had here. She soon answered this as she posed a request to Quirrell.

"Professor Quirrell, excuse me, but can I borrow Wood for a moment, please?" McGonagall asked.

"Y-yes. Of c-course," Quirrell answered, gesturing for Wood to go outside.

Now Harry was curious. During the feast yesterday, he overheard people talking about Oliver Wood. He was the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Why would McGonagall need to see Wood while he was still here? What did Wood have to do with him?

"Wood, I know that you have been having some trouble with filling the final position for this year's team, correct?" McGonagall questioned.

"Yes, Professor. Why do you ask? Wait...have you found a new seeker?!" Wood replied excitedly.

"Yes, I have indeed. This is Harry Potter. I just saw him flying and he was just like his father when he first rode a broom here. The boy is a natural," McGonagall explained.

"But isn't Harry a first year, Professor? He's not allowed to be on the team according to the rules," Wood asked.

"Usually, he wouldn't be...But I think that I may be able to convince Professor Dumbledore otherwise. I shall arrange a session where you can teach Mr Potter about Quidditch shortly and I hope that you will do your best to make our newest seeker feel welcome," McGonagall said.

"Of course, Professor. I guess that I shall see you soon, Harry. I best get back to my lesson now. Goodbye Professor, Harry," Wood replied before heading back into the classroom.

"Now, we can deliver Mr Longbottom's Remembrall, Potter," McGonagall said.

"Yes, but are you truly serious, Professor? How will you be able to convince the Headmaster to let me be on the Quidditch team?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"I have a feeling that Professor Dumbledore will make an exception when I tell him of your seemingly effortless flying and catch even though this was your first time flying on a broom. He will find it hard to say no, I assure you," McGonagall answered.

"Well in that case, thank you very much, Professor," Harry said, trying to show as much enthusiasm as he could, even if he truly wasn't.

"Your very welcome, Potter. Now, when this is cleared with the Headmaster, I shall inform you of the time of your meeting with Wood and expect you to be there on time. I hope that you will do Gryffindor proud," McGonagall informed.

McGonagall then led Harry to the Hospital Wing and he gave Neville his Remembrall back. Once Neville thanked Harry for finding his Remembrall, McGonagall dismissed Harry and told him to head back to the common room to see his classmates, but advised him not to tell everyone of the news yet until it was cleared.

Harry then left the Hospital Wing and followed the corridors and staircase up to the seventh floor, stopping and hiding when he saw the Gryffindor students enter. He then called for Sabrina to show herself so that they could talk privately before going in.

 _~Well, that was unexpected~_ Sabrina finally said bluntly.

 _~As interesting as the sport is, getting on the Quidditch house team was not part of my plan. What am I supposed to do now?~_ Harry questioned.

 _~You're just going to have to incorporate Quidditch into your plans now. You've barely escaped punishment here. Don't give McGonagall a reason to change her mind now~_ Sabrina replied.

 _~Good point. I guess that it won't be all bad. I might even gain some support and allies in Gryffindor this way~_ Harry said.

With the short discussion over, Harry walked into the common room to find his fellow first year Gryffindor ask him what happened and whether he was given any punishment. Harry explained about the net point increase, which made everyone smile, but he neglected to mention the seeker position as per McGonagall's advice. Soon, everyone dispersed as they were happy with his explanation. However, one student remained and had an angry look on their face. It was Hermione, which only meant bad news for him.

"Don't you dare do something like that again! You could've gotten seriously injured! You could've landed Malfoy in the Hospital Wing and gotten more points lost or worse; expelled! What were you thinking?!" Hermione chastised.

"I told you, Hermione. I wouldn't let Malfoy insult and bully Neville behind his back. That boy needed to be taught a lesson in humility and taught that bullying someone never pays. I've seen people like him who think that they can walk over others just because they consider themselves to be better before. Their kind sicken me and I won't allow people like that to get away with their actions," Harry explained as calmly as possible, even with his bubbling anger at being chastised for defending someone.

"You speak from experience then?" Hermione enquired.

"Yes, I do speak from experience. When I was younger, my stupid arse of a cousin would gang up on me with his friends and bully me for no reason other than I was different because I could perform magic. My aunt and uncle were the ones who even encouraged it and would do worse! All because I was magical and was an abnormality in their perfectly normal world! Dudley may have bullied me for so long and would occasionally attack me, but he still never beat me over and over again until I was shoved into the cupboard under the stairs bleeding! It got even worse when it was obvious that Dudley was the dumbest in the class and I was the smartest. Yeah, Dudley gets the lowest scores and there's nothing wrong with him, but me getting the highest scores? I must be cheating as there's no way that I could be better than wonderful, sweet and kind Duddie-kins! That is why I won't allow others to get away with bullying. I won't let anyone experience what I did if I can help it," Harry ranted, trying to remain calm for Hermione's sake.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know," Hermione said sympathetically.

"Yeah, well now you do. I'm sorry that you had to hear about that, but it was the only way to make you understand. In our first conversation, you mentioned how I was completely different to how I was portrayed in those books. Well, you were right. I didn't grow up in a lavish home with adoring relatives and fight all those monsters before coming home for dinner. Nor was I waited upon and constantly worried about by my relatives either. I'm not the wondrous hero that I have been portrayed to be, Hermione. That's just not who I am, neither will I ever be that," Harry explained darkly.

"No, you're not. You're much more realistic. And after what you did today, and with your reasoning, you're probably more noble than your book counterpart. I'm sorry for doubting you. Anyway, I best go to bed. It's been a long day. See you tomorrow then?" Hermione replied.

"Yes, see you tomorrow," Harry said as he watched Hermione go up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

 _~See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?~_ Sabrina asked playfully.

 _~What do you mean?~_ Harry asked back in confusion.

 _~You actually opened up and answered her properly. I'm impressed~_ Sabrina answered.

 _~Well, it's like what I said. It's the only way for her to understand. You were right before. Maybe it won't be such a bad idea to open up to her and Ginny after all~_ Harry said.

 _~That's better. At the end of the day, all that Hermione cared about was whether you were alright. She was completely genuine about it too, I could tell. Now, I think that we should head upstairs ourselves and see whether Hedwig is back with Ginny's response~_ Sabrina said.

Harry couldn't believe that he had forgotten about that and rushed upstairs to find Hedwig waiting for him. Fortunately, he had left the window open in case she came back during his lessons, so she was able to get inside and wait on his bed.

"Thanks girl. Let's just hope that we get some good news," Harry said, stroking Hedwig as he took the letter.

Hedwig gave Sabrina, who still had her head poked out, a knowing look, making Sabrina grin as she knew that Ginny's reply was going to be interesting. Harry, on the other hand, didn't see this and had already started to read the letter.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _You don't know how happy I was when I read your letter. My mother did exactly what you said she would and told me that you had befriended Ron and cast me aside. Thank you for defending me and standing by me against Ron. I don't understand what happened and why he and my mother started to be so cruel, but they started acting like that towards me many years ago. I only really have Fred, George and my dad on my side now. And now you are. If what you've told me is true, and I have no reason to doubt you, I have lost all respect for my brother, my mother and Dumbledore. How could he do such a thing?! He's been telling everyone that you were looked after and happy with your relatives! Yet you've just said that being with them was against your parents' wishes! And to put blocks on you that halves your power?! You can surely sue Dumbledore for his crimes! Why haven't you already?! More to the point, how did you find all of this out if you've been living in the muggle world for all of this time? The goblins of Gringotts don't just call someone up out of the blue. I may be a Weasley, but I'm not stupid like my pig-headed brother. I'm only asking as I'm worried about you. You sounded like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders and that you're the only one who can stop the growing darkness. Just don't grow up too soon, Harry. You need to make time to have fun; to be a kid. As for being friends, you have nothing to worry about. I won't give up on you just because my family is being manipulative. I believe you completely. Thank you for your friendship. It really means a lot._

 _Love Ginny_

Harry had a massive grin on his face after reading the letter. Ginny believed him. She still wanted to be his friend. Finally, things were going right again.

 _~Now all we need to do is stop whatever Ron and Dumbledore are planning on next~_ Harry said.

 _~How are you going to find out what they're planning? It'll be too late to catch them talking~_ Sabrina asked.

 _~It's simple; I'll use Legilimency on Ron when he gets in. He has no mental protection and they'd never suspect anything as they have no idea about how much I can do, let alone the mind arts~_ Harry replied.

 _~But you showed that you have strong walls around your mind when Snape entered your mind earlier. He'll tell Dumbledore everything, removing your perceived advantage~_ Sabrina reminded Harry.

 _~He won't tell Dumbledore anything. He won't want to be reminded about how he failed, especially by Dumbledore of all people. I highly doubt that, even with his grudge against the Potters, he's in on this plot against me. He's motives are too personal. He'll try something again, don't get me wrong, but I'll be ready~_ Harry said.

 _~Just be careful with how much you use Legilimency. Only use it for as long as necessary or Ron will notice one way or another if you're in his mind for too long. And especially don't use it around Dumbledore. He'll definitely notice the signs~_ Sabrina warned.

 _~I know, I know. I'll be careful, don't worry. Speaking of being careful, I'll need to start training Ginny in the mind arts when I see her next year and Hermione once she knows the full truth~_ Harry said.

 _~They seemed to be strong-willed, so training them shouldn't be too bad as long as you make sure that every aspect of the mind arts is clear to them~_ Sabrina commented.

 _~I will, don't worry. I won't do anything that may jeopardise their learning. They'll need to learn as quickly as possible, so hindrances will not be helpful at all~_ Harry replied.

A while later, Ron returned to the Gryffindor common room and Harry caught him as he went back down. As he caught Ron's eye, he wasted no time in using a small Legilimency probe to pick out the recent conversation with Dumbledore.

 _Ron made his way up the staircase and knocked on Dumbledore's office door. He was not looking forward to this conversation at all._

 _"Come in, Mr Weasley," Dumbledore called._

 _Ron gulped and slowly pushed the door open to see Dumbledore sitting at his desk. He then made his way up to Dumbledore and tried not to give his nervousness and fear away._

 _"Now then, Mr Weasley, what do you have to report on Potter. Have you managed to become friends with him yet?" Dumbledore questioned with his grandfatherly voice._

 _"N-no, sir. Potter won't accept my friendship for some reason. Something about me insulting my brat of a sister behind her back or something like that," Ron said, slightly cracking at the beginning._

 _"That won't do at all. Have you attempted to rectify the problem your sister seems to pose?" Dumbledore enquired, slowly losing the usual twinkle in his eyes._

 _"Yeah. I sent a letter to Mum telling her to tell the twerp that Harry was now my friend and that he didn't want her anymore. Hopefully, he'll realise soon that she's nothing and I'll finally convince him that he needs our help," Ron explained._

 _"I hope so, Mr Weasley. Maybe, if we can get Potter shunned by enough people, he'll become desperate and accept your offer then. Do you think that you can manage that?" Dumbledore asked._

 _"I'll do my best, Headmaster. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Potter's got a pet snake of all things! Can you believe it?! It's already scared all of the other boys in our dorm! It's obvious that it's corrupted him somehow!" Ron suggested._

 _"A snake, you say? That's not right at all. I'll have to have words with Potter about it tomorrow about getting rid of it as it goes against school policy to have more than one pet. Now then, what about his abilities. I haven't heard back from the professors yet, so I'll need you to tell me in advance. Is he decent with spells at all?" Dumbledore enquired._

 _"Umm...he's...uh..." Ron tried to say, but his fear got the better of him._

 _"Spit it out, boy! Is the brat good, weak or what?!" Dumbledore yelled._

 _"He's nowhere near weak! He's top of the class in every class already! He hasn't had a single problem with anything! Not even Snape was able to trip him up! Nothing got past him! He's more powerful than we ever thought possible, sir!" Ron explained fearfully._

 _"What?! But he was supposed to be weak! His relatives were supposed to beat the power out of him! Let alone the blocks that I placed on him! He was supposed to be a mediocre wizard barely getting any higher than an Acceptable in anything, yet you're telling me that he has managed to bypass all of that?!" Dumbledore bellowed in anger._

 _"I'm sorry, sir! I'm only telling you what I saw! I have no idea how he managed to do it!" Ron cried._

 _"Then becoming his friend and making him talk is an even bigger priority now! You need to gain his trust and make him talk about how he has gained this power! Once he talks, then tell me and I'll step in and make everything how it should be again, understand?!" Dumbledore ordered._

 _"Yes, sir!" Ron answered fearfully._

 _"You are dismissed, Mr Weasley!" Dumbledore bellowed as Ron ran to the door and bolted out of the office._

Harry then exited Ron's mind and had to school his features so that the anger that he felt didn't show to Ron as the boy walked up to him with a forced smile on his face.

"Hey, Harry! So, what did you think to our first lessons?" Ron asked.

"I thought that they were boring to be honest. We'll see what happens as the spell complexity increases and we learn some more useful spells," Harry replied bluntly.

"Boring?! Are you kidding, mate?! Those weren't meant to be easy, you know? Not many people actually manage to do every tasks, remember? Most of us haven't even done any spells before. You've got to have some secret to doing it, surely. Been practicing, mate?" Ron questioned.

"Maybe I'm just a natural. I haven't done any magic either until today. I knew about it, yes, but didn't try anything as I didn't know how," Harry lied calmly and convincingly.

"Well, you did have some of the best magic users for parents, I guess. Anyway, I've noticed that you've had that Granger girl following you a lot. Is she bothering you at all? I can try and get rid of her for you if you want," Ron asked, trying to, once again, show that he could be useful.

"No, Hermione's not bothering me. Who I talk to and hang around with is not your concern, Ron, so don't start causing trouble. You won't like the end result," Harry replied.

"I just don't think that she's the right sort of person to be friends with, is all. She clearly thinks that she's smarter than everyone else and has a bossy attitude from what I've heard," Ron said.

"You're opinion is not necessary in this matter. She may have started as such, I don't know, but she's much nicer when you get to know her, or did you forget the fact that she didn't seem to have a problem with me knowing the answers and helping her? Doesn't sound like a 'know-it-all', bossy girl to me, does it?" Harry retorted.

"Alright then, if you say so. I'm just trying to look out for you so that you don't go making friends with people who will just bring you down or try to control you. See you, mate," Ron said before quickly heading up the stairs as he could see that things weren't going his way.

Harry then took some parchment out of his pocket once Ron was out of sight. He then wrote a letter to Ginny, charmed it like before and went upstairs. Seeing that Ron wasn't in the main dorm, Harry gave the letter to Hedwig and sent her off to the Burrow again to deliver it to Ginny. As he got ready for bed, he thought about what plans Dumbledore and Ron would come up with now. All he knew was that he would make sure to foil every single one of them. He then went to sleep, after placing notice-me-not charms on his belongings, thinking about how he would laugh as Dumbledore first attempt at controlling him was going to fail.


	11. Chapter 11: Explanations At Last

Chapter 11: Explanations At Last

When Harry woke up the next morning, he steeled himself as he knew that his first confrontation with Dumbledore was going to happen today. He kept his calm composure as he got ready for the day and went down to the common room where Hermione was, once again, sitting in a couch and reading.

Harry smiled slightly as he walked up to Hermione and decided that he would wait for a bit this time. Hopefully their second morning conversation would go better than yesterday's.

"Hello, Hermione," Harry greeted.

"Oh! Hi Harry. How did you sleep?" Hermione asked with a smile.

"I slept well. Did you?" Harry replied.

"Are you sure? You look like you have something on your mind," Hermione stated with concern.

 _~She's good. She can read you like a book~_ Sabrina said with a sly grin.

 _~What? Do you suspect her of using Legilimency?~_ Harry questioned.

 _~No, no, no. I highly doubt that she would have started to study arts outside of school at the moment. Let alone arts that isn't exactly encouraged in school or in the rest of Wizarding World for that matter~_ Sabrina answered.

 _~Good point~_ Harry said.

"What are you whispering? It sounded strange like it wasn't even English," Hermione enquired.

 _~Crap! She heard me!~_ Harry hissed.

"There! You did it again! It almost sounds like you're hissing. I've never heard a language like that before. Can you tell me what it is? Can you, please?" Hermione asked, slowly getting more excited at the prospect of new knowledge.

 _~I think that you can tell her. She's clearly too interested in the knowledge to have any nefarious purposes. Hopefully that will get through that paranoid head of yours~_ Sabrina said with a smirk.

 _~Oh ha ha. Very funny. You need to come out then as it'll be the only way that she'll believe me~_ Harry said.

"Harry, this isn't funny! Talk to me already!" Hermione demanded as she got irritated and worried.

"Sorry, Hermione. I guess that an introduction is in order first so that I can explain this better," Harry answered.

Sabrina then emerged out from Harry's shirt's collar, startling Hermione as she wasn't expecting to see anything come out from his clothes.

"A snake?! Why is there a snake on you?!" Hermione asked fearfully.

"Hermione Granger meet Sabrina, my familiar," Harry said.

"Your familiar?! But I thought that your owl was your familiar," Hermione said.

"You can have more than one familiar, you know? That's why it's not against the rules for Sabrina and Hedwig to be here. Familiars aren't pets, but friends who can help you to achieve your goals and unlock your potential. The Hogwarts supplies list stated that only one pet could be brought with you, not one familiar. Besides, familiars are bonded to you, so trying to separate you from them wouldn't be a good move by the school," Harry explained.

"Ok, that makes sense. However, that still doesn't explain how you can talk a different language. I assume that you were somehow talking to Sabrina? But how? Snakes can't talk," Hermione said.

"Snakes can't speak any human languages, no, but they have their own language," Harry answered.

"Snake language? But how can you understand it then, let alone speak it?" Hermione asked.

"There were some witches and wizards throughout the ages who could speak to snakes. These people are called Parselmouths, with snake language being called Parseltongue. There are some around today as well, like myself, but they are few in numbers. Unfortunately, thanks to the fact that Salazar Slytherin was one, Parseltongue is now thought of as an ability that only dark witches and wizards can use," Harry explained and waited as Hermione pondered this new information.

"I know that I accused you before of being dark, and I sincerely apologise for that, but from your actions and ideals; you clearly are not. If fact, you're not pure light either. Grey probably suits you better. So, why would you use a supposed 'dark' ability?" Hermione questioned.

"Because it's not dark. Over the years, many things that the Ministry couldn't understand were labelled as dark. Parseltongue was one of them. Since not many people could speak to snakes and notable dark wizards had the ability; it was classed as dark. Then you have the Unforgivable curses. By that logic, love potions and most curses should also be classed as dark and should be criminal offences. Love potions are like the Imperius curse as it removes your free will to choose who you love and many apparent lawful and light curses are more destructive and more painful than the killing curse could ever be. Think about it this way, if you had to choose how to die; would you prefer a quick, painless death or a prolonged, agonising death?" Harry explained.

"I guess that I can't really argue with that, but to label something dark just because of a select few and lack of understanding? That's awful," Hermione said.

"It probably doesn't help that it's snake language and snakes are considered to be dark and even evil. Yet it's thanks to Sabrina that I turned my life around and I'm now relatively alright. Slytherin hasn't made a good name for itself and its mascot at all with some of the people who have come out of there. Unfortunately, people also skip over any of the dark witches and wizards from the other houses, making Slytherin seem to be the only place where these dark magic users come from," Harry explained.

"I suppose that you're right. Now that you mention it, I've only ever read about dark witches and wizards coming from either overseas or from Slytherin," Hermione said.

"That's what the Ministry and Hogwarts want us to believe. Trust me when I say that I've done my research. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff have all had their fair share of bad eggs. Unfortunately, the mass of bad eggs from Slytherin in modern times gave the Ministry a perfect opportunity to erase those pieces of history to further isolate Slytherin and bring the other three houses together. This was especially done around the time of the war," Harry explained.

"That's horrible! No wonder everyone considers it a death sentence almost to be sorted into Slytherin!" Hermione exclaimed in horror.

"That's because it literally is. You're either dark, so you are hated by the other houses, or you try not to be and you get bullied by those who are dark in your own house. You can't win," Harry stated bluntly.

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked.

"Let's just say that I notice rather fine detail around me a lot. I can usually pick up on slight changes in people's attitudes just by their body language. If you looked at some of the first year Slytherin, you wouldn't have thought of them to be bad at all. They were happily eating and talking with their friends with no problem. The next morning, they changed. They were silent. No-one would even look at each other. However, their eyes were constantly scanning the table to where the older years were sitting. I would hazard a guess to say that intimidation tactics are used a lot in Slytherin. If you can't handle it, then you will be treated as lower class," Harry explained bluntly, sighing at the bad hand that those first year Slytherins had been dealt.

"That's barbaric!" Hermione exclaimed.

"That's the way the world works, Hermione." Harry stated, "Anyway, enough with this depressive talk. Let's go and get breakfast before everyone else wakes up."

Hermione agreed with Harry and the two students went down to have breakfast together. When they got down and saw that all of the professors were already seated, Harry instantly went on the defensive and placed his mental blocks up in case Dumbledore attempted anything.

Hermione seemed to notice Harry's change in body language as he tensed up and got concerned enough to ask him about it as they began to eat.

"Harry? What's wrong? You've gotten all tense," Hermione asked.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," Harry replied with a forced smile.

"It's clearly not. Come on, you can tell me," Hermione said insistently.

"Not here," Harry whispered.

"Why not?" Hermione questioned.

"Because there are those who do not need to hear it," Harry whispered with a more forceful tone.

"Fine. Be that way," Hermione huffed.

"I will tell you, but after we leave the Great Hall, alright?" Harry said, trying to placate Hermione for now.

"Alright, I believe you. But don't be short with any of the details, mister!" Hermione demanded.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry replied with a smirk.

Soon, the two were joined by the rest of the student body as they all sat down to chat and eat. Fortunately, Harry wasn't pestered by Ron this morning, which was a wonderful relief after the boy's constant annoyance and falseness. When Harry and Hermione finished eating and went to leave, he was stopped by McGonagall.

"Potter, the Headmaster wishes to speak with you after your classes today. He is especially fond of sherbet lemons at the present time. See you in class," McGonagall said before heading back to the staff table.

Harry then walked out, schooling his features until he exited the Great Hall and saw Hermione waiting for him.

"Now there's definitely something wrong. What did Professor McGonagall tell you? Does it have something to do with what made you tense earlier?" Hermione enquired.

"It was related, yes. Dumbledore wants to speak with me after classes today. I have a feeling that I know exactly what he will want to know too," Harry replied.

"What would the Headmaster want to talk to you about?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"How I've been at my relatives and what I've been doing since he dumped me there. He probably never expected me to be so...fine..." Harry suggested with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Professor Dumbledore put you there?! But you said that they were horrid! Why would he do that?! And what do you mean he didn't expect you to be fine there?!" Hermione questioned.

"I meant exactly what I said, Hermione. He knew exactly what the Dursleys were like, yet he still put me there. What person in their right mind would think that someone would come out of there alright when they are completely different to the people inside of there? It's like putting an antelope in a lion's den. Would you honestly expect the antelope to be alright?" Harry explained coldly.

"It just seems so weird when he's supposed to be the Leader of the Light, yet he would consciously put you in a life that you describe as an earthly Hell. Why would he do that?" Hermione pondered.

"To answer your question, I'd have to tell you everything. However, now is not the time. Our classes will start soon. I'll tell you later after I have my talk with Dumbledore," Harry said.

"You better!" Hermione said playfully as she nudged Harry slightly for emphasis.

Harry smiled as the two of them walked to their first class. Once again, Harry and Hermione were the only two students to complete the tasks set by the professors, with Harry finishing first and Hermione second. Eventually, the time came were all the classes were over, which meant that Dumbledore was expecting Harry.

Harry realised that McGonagall's insinuation of the old man liking sherbet lemons was probably a hint to the password for getting into the Headmaster's office. He made his way to where the maps said that the office was, but only found a large golden eagle statue.

 _~Maybe saying the password now might show the entrance to the office~_ Sabrina suggested.

 _~It's worth a shot~_ Harry said in agreement.

"Sherbet lemon!" Harry bellowed.

That seemed to do the trick as the eagle began to turn and rise, revealing a staircase connected to the bottom of the statue. Harry followed the staircase up to a door, which he assumed was the office door and was about to knock before he heard the old man's voice.

"Come in!" Dumbledore called.

It seemed as though Dumbledore already knew that Harry was there. Likely it was some form of spying spell so he could see just outside of the door. He probably also timed his "Come in!" to be more theatrical. Harry entered the office and walked up to Dumbledore's desk where there was an empty chair for him to sit on, he assumed.

"Hello Harry, my boy. Take a seat. Would you like a sherbet lemon?" Dumbledore asked, putting on his best fake grandfatherly voice.

"No thank you, Headmaster. Why did you summon me then?" Harry asked bluntly as he sat down.

"Well, I wanted to see how you've been for all these years. The last time I saw you was when you were a baby and I gave you to your relatives," Dumbledore said.

"In that case, I've been fine. We didn't get along at first, but they soon turned around," Harry answered.

Harry then felt a Legilimency probe and inwardly smirked as he watched Dumbledore's frustration as he couldn't get past Harry's mental walls. After a few seconds, Dumbledore stopped trying and left Harry's mind, hoping that he wasn't detected.

"That's wonderful. I knew that your family was the best place for you to go," Dumbledore said with a fake smile.

'Yeah, you sure did, old man,' Harry thought angrily.

"So, what have you been doing for all these years? I've heard that you're top in your classes. You must be rather proud with yourself. I can't help but wonder how you got so good. Did you do some practicing before coming to Hogwarts?" Dumbledore enquired.

"I read through my books when I got them in Diagon Alley. You can't do wrong when you read ahead and prepare yourself. The theory was there. I guess that I'm just a natural with my spell work," Harry answered, giving the same response as he gave Ron.

"Quite right, my boy, quite right. However, it's not every day that someone can complete all of the first lesson tasks so quickly and easily. I'm worried that you might overload your core if you use too much of your magic at once. Have you been feeling ill or fatigued lately?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not at all, Headmaster. I'm feeling perfectly fine," Harry replied with a fake smile.

"Well, if you ever do feel like something isn't right; come and find me and I'll try to resolve the issue," Dumbledore said with his grandfatherly voice.

'He's still under the impression that I'm at half strength. Well...he's going to be in for a big surprise,' Harry thought, smirking inwardly.

"Of course, sir," Harry said.

"Now then, it has come to my attention that you have broken one of the rules for first years when they get their school supplies. Can you elaborate on that, Harry?" Dumbledore questioned.

"I haven't broken any rules, sir," Harry replied, knowing full well where this was going.

"But you have two animals with you, do you not? Your owl and...a snake, is that correct?" Dumbledore enquired as a hint of a smirk appeared on his face.

"Yes, I do. Do you have an issue with that, sir?" Harry asked back, daring Dumbledore to continue.

"Well, unfortunately I do. For starters; snakes were not listed as a possible pet, Harry, so the fact of you having one in the first place is against the rules. Also, you are only supposed to bring one pet with you. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you to send your snake home," Dumbledore explained as the smirk on his face grew. It still wasn't big enough for a normal person to see, but Harry spotted it.

'Time to wipe that smirk off of your face, old man,' Harry thought with a grin.

"I'm afraid that I can't do that, sir," Harry said.

"I don't understand how you cannot do this. I can always call your aunt and uncle to collect it for you," Dumbledore offered.

"I mean that you can't separate us. Surely you must know that it's never a good idea to separate a wizard from his familiar," Harry said, grinning inwardly as he saw the shock on Dumbledore's face.

"Familiar?! But how?!" Dumbledore exclaimed.

"I met Sabrina quite a while ago, actually. She was a big help and we bonded. We've been together ever since. I've bonded with Hedwig as well, so they're both my familiars. They are not my pets, but my friends," Harry explained.

"I understand. Just be careful, my boy," Dumbledore sighed in defeat.

"I always am. And if I get in trouble, Sabrina is usually there to get me out of it. I have no reason not to trust her," Harry said, knowing exactly what Dumbledore meant by being careful.

"Very well, Harry. I just thought that I should say as your friend, Mr Weasley, was rather worried," Dumbledore stated.

"Ronald Weasley is not my friend, sir. His concerns are unfounded," Harry said coldly.

"You need some friends though, my boy. Mr Weasley was only trying to do what he thought was right. Maybe you should give him a second chance to prove himself. I'm sure that he will be a good choice for a friend. I have been friends with the Weasleys for many years now, as were your parents. I can vouch for them being good people," Dumbledore suggested.

"I will think about it, sir," Harry responded.

"Alright, Harry. You are dismissed. Oh, by the way, congratulations on being the Gryffindor seeker! I know that being a first year should prevent you from being on the house team, but I decided to make an exception after hearing Professor McGonagall's convincing argument for you. Good luck, my boy," Dumbledore said, putting his fake grandfatherly smile on again.

"Thank you, sir. Goodbye," Harry said as he left the office and went down the staircase.

As Harry walked back to the common room, he couldn't help but be angry at Dumbledore as everything that the old man said and did proved his guilt. Harry guessed that Dumbledore was likely to start wondering about whether the blocks on his core had been removed after the confrontation as he not only blocked Dumbledore's mental probe, but also showed no side effects from using his magic to a high standard, apparently. Hopefully, Dumbledore wouldn't figure it out until it was too late for him. Until then, Harry would need to start planning ahead for that inevitable event as Dumbledore would likely strike then and try to weaken him again.

When Harry finally entered the common room, he found Hermione waiting for him in her couch and schooled his features so that no-one else around could detect his change in attitude. She saw him almost instantly and a beaming smile appeared on her face as she stood up to greet him.

"Hey, Harry! How did your talk with the Headmaster go?" Hermione asked.

"Not here. Outside," Harry said as he led her outside of the common room as there were many people inside who had tried to subtly turn their heads to listen in on their conversation.

"So what happened?" Hermione asked.

"Well, Dumbledore asked me how everything was after he left me at the Dursleys first. I gave a half truth that we were getting along now which prompted him to try and use Legilimency on me," Harry answered.

"What do you mean by it being a half truth? And what's Legilimency?" Hermione asked.

"We don't technically get along well, but we are civil to each other as they know that trying to mess with me again will not end well for them. Legilimency is part of the mind arts along with Occlumency. Legilimency is basically you going into another person's mind to see their memories etcetera whereas Occlumency is when you block your mind from the intrusive art of Legilimency and other magic involving the mind," Harry explained.

"The Headmaster tried to force his way into your mind?! Isn't that against the rules?!" Hermione exclaimed.

"It's illegal for a legal adult to perform Legilimency on a minor, yes. Whether I am still classed as one is up for debate though due to other factors. After he failed to get past my blocks, however, he then asked me to get rid of Sabrina as I wasn't allowed to keep a pet snake. His face was priceless when I told him that Sabrina was my familiar and couldn't be separated from me," Harry explained.

"I can't believe that Professor Dumbledore would stoop so low. At least you managed to prevent all of that. What else happened?" Hermione said, genuinely disgusted by Dumbledore now.

"He tried to get me to befriend Ron, one of his lackeys, and said how concerned and good the boy is. It's sickening to even imagine me being friends with that backstabbing idiot! He even tried to use the fact that my parents worked with the Weasleys during the war to manipulate me by saying that they were friends," Harry replied.

"Isn't Ron the red-haired boy who keeps annoying you?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, he is. I told Dumbledore that I'd think about it, but even he must've realised that I had no intention of being friends with the boy when I told Dumbledore that Ron was lying when he told him that we were friends," Harry said.

"I just can't believe this. This goes against everything that's ever been said about him," Hermione said in shock.

"I can give you a magical oath to show that I'm telling you the truth," Harry offered.

"No, no! It's not that I don't believe you. I do. You didn't even need to talk to me or tell me if you didn't plan on being truthful. But still, Dumbledore has been the Leader of the Light for many years and is even classed as the greatest wizard of the age after his defeat of Grindelwald. It's just a lot to take in. At least I now know why you hate him so much. He's trying to control your life for crying out loud!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Thank you; for believing me," Harry said.

"You don't have to thank me, that's what friends do, right?" Hermione said.

"Friends?" Harry asked as he raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, even after everything I said to you and accused you of, you've been helping me and talking to me a lot. No-one has ever really done that before unless they wanted my help on something before they would stop talking to me again. You clearly didn't need my help, so it was strange that you would willingly talk to me and help me when I needed it. You're a really nice guy, really, and you're heart's in the right place. I just thought that it meant that you wanted to-Oh forget it! I'm sorry! I jumped the gun!" Hermione replied, starting to sob as she thought that Harry didn't want to be her friend.

"Woah, woah, woah! Don't get upset. You didn't jump the gun at all. Of course I would like to be your friend," Harry said as he tried to comfort Hermione.

"You really mean that?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"Of course! I wouldn't have told you anything if I didn't want to be your friend," Harry replied with a smile.

Hermione beamed at Harry and hugged him tightly. This was his second hug now, both from two girls who had somehow managed to get him to open up and befriend him when he didn't think that he ever would trust another person again.

 _~See? I told you that she would believe you if you would only tell her the truth~_ Sabrina said teasingly.

 _~Ok, you win, I admit it! I was wrong!~_ Harry hissed back quietly.

"Were you talking to Sabrina again?" Hermione asked, still hugging Harry.

"Yeah. She told me from the beginning to stop being cryptic with you and Ginny and tell you two the truth and that I wouldn't have to worry about whether you two would believe me or not. I admitted that I was wrong about that. Let's just say that you now know why I have trust issues and why I was so cryptic before. I'm sorry for not trusting you sooner," Harry explained.

"And I'm sorry for misjudging you. Wait a minute...who's Ginny?" Hermione questioned, releasing Harry from the hug.

"Ginny is the youngest Weasley. I met her at King's Cross Station before I got onto Platform 9 and 3/4. She's nothing like her brother and mother. I guess that you could say that she's my first human friend. We've exchanged some letters as I had to warn her about Ron's letter. He insulted her on the train before he knew who I was, hence why I wasn't very fond of him already, so he sent a letter to his mother to tell Ginny that he was my friend and that I didn't need her. I had to tell her the truth then or I would've lost her trust and friendship. Fortunately, she believed me. I won't allow her to be manipulated and turned into another one of Dumbledore's pawns," Harry explained.

"That's terrible!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes...Well, now you know everything. How are you feeling?" Harry asked.

"A bit overwhelmed, but I'll get over it. What do we do now?" Hermione enquired.

"We act like normal; like we don't know anything. When Ginny arrives, we can discuss this more. Until then, we keep our heads down, figure out what Dumbledore's planning next and prevent it from working," Harry answered.

"Right. So...back to the common room then?" Hermione asked as she nodded in agreement.

"Back to the common room," Harry replied.

As the two students walked back into the common room, both were happy that they had made a new friend, with Harry thinking that his time at Hogwarts wouldn't be so bad anymore. He had Sabrina, Hedwig, Ginny and now Hermione. Maybe everything would be alright after all.


	12. Chapter 12: The First Halloween

**A/N: Sorry for how long it has taken me to upload this chapter everyone. I have just got back to university and have been going over this chapter many times to try and get it right. Hopefully, it is not too bad. Now, enjoy and see Harry's first brush with his inner darkness.**

Chapter 12: The First Halloween

Unfortunately, things weren't alright since Harry and Hermione became friends. Ron continued to annoy the two of them with his constant attempts to gain Harry's friendship while also subtly insulting Hermione. Lessons were the same as usual, except Potions was slowly becoming worse as Snape was constantly trying to cause Harry to slip up and take points from him.

The man was, in Harry and Hermione's shared opinion, nowhere near fit to be a teacher. He hardly spoke to the class without practically insulting them, with the only times he didn't was when he praised his own house. He never explained how to prepare a potion and expected everyone to know where to find the ingredients and to follow the book instructions perfectly. If the potion was even a little lighter or darker than it should be; he would call it a failure, even if it worked, and docked points from the house whose student prepared it. Thankfully, Harry and Hermione were the top students and had never failed yet to Snape's annoyance.

What Harry thought to be the worst though, was that with his performance in his classes and his constant rebuffing of Ron; Dumbledore had gotten suspicious of him. He noticed the looks that the old man gave him every so often during meals. The old man probably thought that he was being subtle, but Harry's eyes were too active to miss seeing anything important.

Harry had spoken to Hermione about this before and knew that they would have to 'befriend' Ron at some point later on in the year to quell Dumbledore's suspicion. That way, Ron would have things to report to Dumbledore, though they would be either half-truths or blatant lies that Harry would come up with, and the old man would think that everything was starting to go in his favour again.

Harry didn't know just how soon he would have to get that part of his plan rolling, though, but he didn't expect it to be on the worst day possible; Halloween.

Harry absolutely hated Halloween. It was a day that filled him with many emotions. Among them were sadness, anger and hate. He felt sadness as October 31st marked the anniversary of the his parents' deaths. He felt anger at his inability to save them and of the Wizarding World's ignorance to his parents' deaths while they practically worshipped him as some sort of Messiah. And he felt hate for Voldemort and Dumbledore for being the reason why he was an orphan and why he didn't know anything about love, happiness or family...only darkness and hatred.

As Harry woke up on Halloween morning, with all of these thoughts running through his mind, no-one would be any the wiser as he was a master of schooling his features and suppressing his emotions. As everyone went about their business, only two people knew of the internal suffering that Harry was going through; Hermione and Ginny.

Ginny had sent a letter to Harry after Hedwig delivered his the day prior, which would be delivered in the afternoon at the feast after lessons ended, while Hermione was waiting for him to come down the staircase as he usually did. As she expected, he seemed to take his time this morning as he was ten minutes behind his usual time.

Sabrina also knew how badly her friend and master was suffering today. For many years after she first told him he truth about his life and the day his parents died, she had been awoken many nights to see him having nightmares of that night. Every time, he saw his mother fall to the ground after a flash of green light hit her, then the green light came towards him before he blacked out and woke up. It was a sight that he didn't wish for anyone to see, let alone another child. He vowed that he would make sure that no other child would have to deal with such a loss at the hands of a madman.

Sabrina was extremely worried about Harry this morning. As his familiar, she was able to see his aura all of the time, even as he suppressed it to prevent those like Dumbledore from knowing his true power. When she first met Harry; his aura was a golden yellow-green colour. After he learned the truth about his life, his aura began to change into a shade of green that matched the killing curse.

However, since coming to Hogwarts, Harry's aura had begun to change again. Now, it was darkening. In time, his aura might become pure black and that frightened Sabrina. She didn't want to see her friend get consumed by the darkness. She could only hope that the two girls could help him and stop this before it was too late.

Harry eventually got himself ready and headed downstairs to see Hermione waiting for him with a worried face. He tried his best to put on a smile, but it didn't work on her.

"You don't have to feign ignorance with me, Harry. I know what today is," Hermione said.

Harry sighed in a mixture of defeat and pain as his smile faded to a frown. He then looked at Hermione before starting to walk to the exit.

"I don't really want to talk about it, Hermione. Not at the moment. Let's just get to the Great Hall for breakfast, alright?" Harry asked.

"You don't have keep everything inside, Harry. You know that you can talk to me about anything. But...I'll respect your wishes. Just don't bottle your emotions up," Hermione answered as she followed Harry out of the common room.

Harry and Hermione only made it down to breakfast a few minutes before the first lot of students started to appear. No-one seemed to notice Harry's mood change, though when Hermione glanced over at the professors' table, she saw Dumbledore and Snape looking straight at Harry.

Dumbledore had a small, almost sadistic, grin on his face at seeing Harry suffer, whereas Snape just glared and frowned at him, thinking that the boy was acting out as he didn't think or remember what today was while his mind was filled with his hate for James Potter.

The two professors' expressions worried Hermione greatly, though Snape's made her more concerned. She knew that Harry had an explosive temper and could lash out badly if pushed too far. She had seen that first-hand. However, his fuse would be even shorter because of the significance of today. If Snape said anything in Potions today, he would get a rise from Harry, and she feared what would happen to her friend and to Snape.

As everyone finished breakfast and headed to their lessons, Hermione was glad that Transfiguration was their first lesson of the day. Hopefully, Harry would be able to compose himself enough for Potions afterwards.

Transfiguration was rather normal. Nothing different happened to what usually happened. Harry and Hermione were the only ones able to complete all of the tasks as usual, though some were getting closer to finishing all of the spells. Hermione also noticed McGonagall glancing over at Harry a lot. The older woman had a look of sadness on her face as a solitary tear ran down her cheek while she watched him.

Hermione wondered if McGonagall remembered what today meant to Harry and if she knew his parents. To cry for him, breaking her usual stoic expression, surely meant that this might be true. She needed to get him to talk to McGonagall at some point. Maybe their professor might be able to tell him some stories about his parents and cheer him up.

Defence Against the Dark Arts didn't help Harry's mood either. The lesson wasn't at all challenging and it seemed to drag on too long thanks to Quirrell's constant stuttering. However, that wasn't the main issue. Every time he looked at Quirrell lately; his scar started to hurt, especially if Quirrell turned around. Something definitely wasn't right about him and Harry intended to find out.

Next was the worst lesson of the day, in Harry and Hermione's opinion; Potions. As they entered the classroom, Hermione instantly became nervous as Snape came out of his office and smirked at Harry. This wasn't going to go well. She just hoped that Harry didn't get himself into trouble.

"Turn to page 162 and complete the potion stated. This may be a 'special day' for some of you, but that doesn't excuse you of anything. Begin!" Snape ordered, looking directly at Harry as he said 'special day'.

Hermione saw the frown on Harry's face turn to a more angry expression as he gritted his teeth to remain in control. If Snape said anything else, especially if his lack of subtlety continued, then it would push Harry over the edge.

The rest of the lesson went off relatively normally. The Slytherins had no problems and praise from Snape, the Gryffindors were trying to complete the potion while also trying to prevent the Slytherins from sabotaging their potions and Harry and Hermione were perfectly fine thanks to the shield charm over their cauldron that Harry had begun to set up like it was second nature now. They managed to finish their potion a few minutes before the end of the lesson, but this is when everything started to go wrong.

Snape came over to see the potion and, once again, found it to have no problems. Harry and Hermione were truly a brilliant team, but Snape didn't see this. After so many opportunities to humiliate Harry, Snape had failed each time. The boy just didn't do anything wrong and this angered Snape greatly. Now, it had become too much. He had to know how the boy was doing it.

"See me after class, Potter," Snape ordered.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied, not in the mood to argue with Snape today.

Snape glared at Harry, not noticing the saddened expression on his face, and walked away to check on other potions. As the bell then rang for lunch, all of the students got up to leave and began to exit until Snape spoke.

"Remember to stay behind, Potter. As for the rest of you...leave, now!" Snape bellowed.

"I'll wait outside for you," Hermione said, hugging Harry before exiting the classroom with the others.

Once everyone left, Snape gestured for Harry to come into his office as he walked inside. Harry followed Snape and found him sitting at his desk with a hateful expression. Harry sighed and took the seat opposite Snape and waited for the man to start his rant.

"Now that everyone is gone, you can't hide from me anymore, Potter! Now tell me how you've been able to produce those potions?!" Snape questioned.

"I followed the instructions in the book as you said, Professor. They're easy to follow, so completing the potion accurately was easy with Hermione as my partner," Harry replied.

"Liar! There's no way that you could have completed every potion in the time given, especially not this one! No-one has been able to complete this potion in one lesson except me and Lily! Now tell me the truth, you lying cheat!" Snape bellowed angrily.

"I am telling you the truth! I have nothing to hide from you or anyone else, Professor, and I certainly don't have to prove myself to you either!" Harry retorted, slowly losing his composure.

"We both know that you're lying, Potter! I can see it in your eyes! You have a lot of secrets locked away. I wonder what people would say when your secrets are revealed and the Boy-Who-Lived is found to be nothing more than an arrogant, spoiled brat! You're just like your father! You may have worked the charm on everyone else, but I can see you for what you are! Just because today is your 'special day' and you get to be practically worshipped today doesn't mean that you are beyond the rules! You're nothing more than a lying, arrogant cheat with delusions of grandeur! I will enjoy it when the truth is finally discovered! Now tell me what you did before I found out forcefully!" Snape growled in anger.

Snape then smirked as he saw that Harry's head was lowered and thought that he had finally beaten the boy at last, and through him; James Potter. However, what he didn't notice was Harry stiffening ever since Snape insulted his father and said the words 'special day'. Harry's fists balled as he tried in vain to keep a hold over his emotions as his control slowly lessened.

"What did you say?" Harry asked coldly.

"You heard me you little brat! Now tell me the truth before I put you in detention for the rest of the year and take away every point in Gryffindor house!" Snape demanded as he waited for Harry's confession.

A small amount of black energy began to radiate off of Harry. It wasn't big enough to be seen by Snape, but Sabrina could see it. Harry's aura was changing again.

 _~Harry? What's wrong? What are you doing?~_ Sabrina asked worriedly.

Harry, however, couldn't hear Sabrina now. What Snape said finally made him snap. He then lifted his head and looked at Snape directly in the eyes. The once bright green eyes of Lily Evans-Potter were now replaced by piercing dark green eyes that were almost black.

In the back of Snape's mind, he knew that something was wrong, but he ignored it as his thirst for revenge against the Potters was too strong. The two locked eyes for a few minutes, but Harry still didn't say anything. The silence was starting to get to Snape as he began to feel uneasy as he continued to stare into the now soulless eyes of Harry Potter. After another few second, Harry finally spoke.

"You think that this is a 'special day' for me? That I enjoy my fame from that Halloween night? That I love the fact that I am an orphan with no-one to call family? You think that I wanted all of this?! You are just like everyone else! No-one remembers the sacrifices that people like my parents made, just that the ending was in their favour and that they do not have to do anything anymore! Today is nothing more than a reminder to me that my parents are dead and died while trying to save me! They stood in front of a mass murderer and begged for me to be spared! They would rather die than leave me! Does that sound like the arrogant, spoiled self-centred person that you claim that my father is?! You're pathetic! I have no time for people like you! Goodbye, Professor," Harry explained in a cold, monotone voice before a wave of energy blasted Snape backwards out of his chair.

Harry then got up and left the office, leaving Snape shocked and confused about what had just happened. Where did that come from? The boy was so quiet before now. But to turn from that to being so cold and emotionless. The boy didn't even put up a wand or hand to blow Snape away. What power was he hiding inside of him. Snape had a lot to think about now. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten what happened on that night. The boy was right; it wasn't truly a 'special day' after all. Not to them at least.

Rage was pouring off of Harry as he exited the Potions classroom. He didn't respond to Sabrina's worried questioning. He didn't notice Hermione trying to grab his attention as they walked to the Transfiguration classroom for their second Transfiguration class of the day. Neither did he notice McGonagall trying to see whether he was alright after she saw how silent he was with his head down and fists balled. All that he could think about was what Snape said and how he was a long line of people who only cared about themselves.

The lesson seemed to go on forever, but everyone was eventually dismissed and they made their way to the final lesson of the day; Charms class.

Hermione was extremely worried about her friend now as Harry hadn't spoken since his talk with Snape. She wished that she could talk to him, but she was never able to get to him now. They were always seated away from each other, with him sitting at the back away from everyone.

Hermione was unfortunately sat next to the class idiot; Ron Weasley, and was getting rather frustrated after Professor Flitwick asked them to attempt to do the Wingardium Leviosa charm as Ron was failing miserably and waving his wand about like a madman. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore and had to stop him before he took either her eyes or the boy's next to Ron.

"Stop! Stop! You're going to take someone's eye out! Besides, the reason why you're not getting it right is that you're forcing the spell to work and you're saying it wrong. It's Levi-o-sa, not Levio-sar. Don't you remember what Harry said on our first day? 'Don't control magic, let it flow through you'," Hermione explained, hoping that Ron would understand what she was saying.

Unfortunately for Hermione, Ron didn't see her explanation as helpful and got angry at her for trying to give him advice. Ron had never liked being given advice. He knew exactly what he was doing! He was a Weasley after all!

"Go on then, you try it! Go ahead! Go on, go on!" Ron challenged angrily.

Hermione was shocked at Ron's aggressiveness, but rose to his challenge anyway, lifting her feather into the air easily.

Flitwick, who had just seen Harry lift his feather and given 10 points to Gryffindor for such a quick mastery of the charm, turned around to see Hermione perform the charm and gave an extra 5 points to Gryffindor and praised her efforts.

Once everyone was dismissed, Hermione tried to find Harry in the crowd, but couldn't see him anywhere. What she didn't know was that he had stayed behind for a bit before leaving, not wanting to be the first out. As he left, he saw her looking for him and realised that he had been ignoring her all day, feeling immense guilt.

 _~It's about time you finally got out of this mood you've been in and come back to reality! What the hell has been up with you, Harry?! You've never been like this before, even when the Dursleys insulted your parents!~_ Sabrina asked harshly.

 _~I-I don't know...I've been so angry ever since coming to Hogwarts and seeing Ron and Dumbledore. Once Snape insulted my father and called me a liar...I just snapped...I couldn't think straight...What have I done? How could I ignore you two all day?~_ Harry said as his rage finally died down and was replaced with fear of his actions.

 _~I don't know, Harry. But you've got a lot of making up to do~_ Sabrina said worriedly.

As Harry started to walk up to Hermione, he then saw he turn her head to the side. He followed her line of sight and saw Ron with some of the Gryffindor boys laughing. What he said shocked and angered Harry greatly.

"It's Levi-o-sa, not Levio-sar! That bookworm's a nightmare, honestly! It's no wonder why she hasn't got any friends! Who'd want to be friends with a bossy know-it-all?!" Ron said loudly, causing the other boys to laugh again.

Harry watched as Hermione started to tear up before running away. He then turned his head to see Ron and his group laughing as they watched her run. Harry debated about what to do in his head for several seconds before realising that interrogating Ron would not be a good idea. With his anger, he could blow his cover if Ron were to tell Dumbledore, making the old man more alert and concerned. No, he needed to go after Hermione and try to calm her down. He just hoped that he wasn't too late.

Unfortunately, Hermione was already long gone by the time he ran down the castle's corridors. If anything had happened to her, Dumbledore be damned, Ron was a dead man. With a heavy sigh of defeat, Harry walked to the Great Hall and sat down for the feast.

After half an hour, there was still no sign of Hermione. Getting more worried by the second, Harry started to ask people if they knew anything about where she had gone. Eventually, he got round to Neville and finally got some information.

"Do you know where Hermione is, Neville? I haven't seen her since Charms," Harry asked.

"I heard Parvarti and Lavender saying that they saw her in the girls' bathroom. They said that she must have been there ever since Charms and that she was crying," Neville replied sadly.

Harry's fists balled as he attempted to restrain himself from lashing out at Ron. Just as he finally calmed himself down, Quirrell rushed through the double-doors with a fearful and frightened look on his face.

"Troll! In the dungeons! Troll in the dungeons!" Quirrell screamed as everyone turned their heads to look at him, "Just thought that you would want to know..."

Quirrell then promptly collapsed on the floor, causing all of the students to go into a panic. Harry stared at the fallen professor and knew that something was...off about this. Before he could think more on the matter, Dumbledore addressed the school and told the prefects to take the students to their dormitories and told the professors to follow him to the dungeons.

As everyone began to leave, Harry stopped and realised that Hermione was still in the girls' bathroom and had no idea about the troll. What if it got out of the dungeons?! She'd be in trouble!

 _~You're going to save her?! What if you're right and the troll does get out?! You surely don't think that-!~_ Sabrina exclaimed.

 _~I have to try! I won't abandon her like everyone else!~_ Harry responded boldly.

With that, Harry left the crowd and ran in the opposite direction towards the public bathrooms. As he made it to the final corridor, he heard a loud growl and hid behind a pillar. As he peaked out, he saw the shadow, then the body, of an adult mountain troll.

Just then, something hit Harry in the back, making him stumble forwards. He instantly turned and drew his wand out in the direction of the attack only to see Ron on the floor. The boy must've ran into him and bounced back from the force of the impact.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Harry asked angrily.

"Looking for you! What the bloody hell are you doing here?!" Ron retorted in fake concern.

"Cleaning up your mess from Charms! So, if you don't want to get squished by a troll, then stay quiet!" Harry answered.

Ron went silent as he realised what Harry meant as he remembered Neville saying that Hermione was in the girls' bathroom. As Harry surveyed the troll again, he saw it walk into the girls' bathroom and ran down the corridor towards it, not wishing to let his friend come to any harm. Ron followed closely after him, but it was obvious that the boy was consumed by fear.

"Help! Help me! Someone help!" a voice screamed.

Recognising the voice as Hermione's, Harry sped forward at full speed and got into the bathroom to see the troll swinging its club at the now crawling young girl.

"Hermione! Move!" Harry ordered as he fired a cutting curse at the troll.

The troll was cut across its back, making it cry out in pain as it turned around to see Harry and Ron. As the troll was distracted, Hermione moved under the sinks for shelter. Ron then began throwing rocks at the troll to keep its attention away from Hermione as she tried to move closer towards the two boys, which succeeded for a while. Unfortunately, the troll soon heard her as she moved rubble while crawling and slammed his club down, breaking a sink just as she managed to dodge the attack.

"Help!" Hermione screamed again, begging the boys to do something.

 _~You've got to do something and do it fast!~_ Sabrina cried.

Harry's eyes scanned over the troll as he tried to find a weakness, then he realised something. Its head was tiny compared to the rest of its body. A strong impact from a large object should knock it out, but what could he use. Rocks weren't good enough and the planks of wood and rubble around him were even smaller than the rocks.

Then Harry remembered the club. A hit on the head with the club would be perfect. The only problem was getting it. He then remembered what they just learned today; the Levitation charm. He could levitate the club above the troll's head, then drop it. Gravity would do the rest. Drawing his Holly wand, he began the incantation.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry bellowed.

The club then rose out of the troll's hand just as it was about to slam it down on Hermione again. The troll looked around in confusion before looking up to see its club floating above it. Without missing a beat, Harry dropped the club down on the troll, which succeeded in knocking it out, saving Hermione in the process.

"Is it...dead?" Hermione asked hesitantly as she finally got up.

"No...It's just knocked out. The club wasn't high enough or big enough to cause any more than a concussion," Harry replied.

Before Hermione could thank Harry, McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell ran into the bathroom and were shocked by what they saw.

"Oh my goodness! Explain yourselves, both of you!" McGonagall demanded, pointing at Harry and Ron.

Before Harry and Ron could say anything, Hermione began to speak instead.

"It's my fault Professor McGonagall," Hermione said.

"Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked, confused and disappointed.

Not about to let Hermione take the fall and try to defend him and Ron, Harry spoke up himself and silenced Hermione.

"No, Hermione. Lying for us will not make this better. Professor, I heard some boys insult Hermione after Charms and I watched her run away in tears. I tried to follow her, but she was long gone by the time I entered the castle. I asked around during the feast and everyone said that they either hadn't seen her or that she was in this bathroom. When the troll was announced, I remembered that Hermione wasn't around to hear this and would be in danger if the troll left the dungeons...if it was ever there in the first place. Seems as though I was right. Ron followed me and came along to help. If you're going to punish someone, then punish me, not them. I didn't follow Dumbledore's orders, but I did it to save my friend's life and I would do it again. I couldn't abandon her," Harry explained.

Everyone was shocked at what Harry just said. Hermione at how Harry had defended her and tried to find her after Charms, Ron at how Harry didn't name him as the one who insulted Hermione, McGonagall at Harry's noble actions, Snape at Harry's selflessness and Quirrell at Harry's complete calmness even after facing a massive troll. Eventually, McGonagall composed herself and spoke again.

"Well...I can't very well punish you for your actions in light of that information if you are being honest-" McGonagall started to say before being interrupted.

"Ask any of the Gryffindor students, Professor. They'll tell you the same as me that Hermione wasn't at the feast," Harry said, not liking McGonagall mistrust in his words.

"I will, Mr Potter. As I was saying; I can't punish you now. You must realise that not many wizards and witches can take on a fully grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale. Let alone three first years. Therefore...5 points will be awarded to each of you...for sheer dumb luck!" McGonagall said before leaving the bathroom.

Harry then looked at Snape and saw a cut on his leg. Snape saw where he was looking and covered his leg before leaving as well. He would need to ask Snape some more questions now, it seemed.

"P-perhaps you ought to g-go. I-It might wake up," Quirrell stuttered and chuckled slightly.

As the students left the bathroom, Harry looked back and saw Quirrell stiffen as his fists balled. He knew it. Quirrell was behind the troll's appearance. But why bring a troll into the school? For a diversion? A while back, Harry remembered seeing something about Gringotts being broken into in the Daily Prophet. It was the same vault that contained the bagged item that Hagrid took when they went to Diagon Alley. Was it hidden in the school? Could Quirrell be after it? What was so important about this item that someone would break into Gringotts for it?

So many questions ran through Harry's mind as the trio made their way to the common room. As they got to the Fat Lady's portrait, however, Harry remembered that Hedwig was in the Great Hall waiting for him as he saw her perched in a corner before Quirrell warned everyone about the troll.

Harry rushed downstairs and called Hedwig to come down, which she did instantly. She had been waiting patiently for her master and gave him a peck on the head in annoyance for making her wait for so long. He understood her mood and apologised before opening the letter and reading Ginny's letter as he walked back up to the common room, with Hedwig on his shoulder and Sabrina poking out of his collar to read as well.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I'm not going to regale you with the classic "I know how you feel line", because I don't. All that I can say is that I'm so sorry and that no matter what you think, there are still some people who remember. You have me and Hermione to talk to if you need to, but don't forget that others knew your parents and they too are hurting today. You need to talk to someone who understands. Find out more about your parents. Professor McGonagall knew both my parents and your parents when they were in the Order of the Phoenix. Apparently, she was really close to your parents and was even named as your godmother. My mother doesn't think that I know this, but I overheard her saying something to someone about your godparents a while ago. Unfortunately, I only heard her talk about Sirius Black, your godfather, and name McGonagall as your godmother before I leant towards the door too much and made the floor creak. I ran off as I heard Mother walk towards the door. I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you more, but that's all I know. I always liked McGonagall when she came over. She's always tried to do what's right. I think that you can talk to her and you can cheer each other up. She'll be hurting today too. Just promise me something, Harry, alright? Don't bottle your emotions inside of you. Before you say anything, I just know that you are. I don't know why, I just do. You're putting on a confident face, but I can see through you, even your words in your letter from yesterday. I know that you're hurting today and you mustn't think that you always need to be strong, especially not around me and Hermione. I'm sure that she's already told you this though. Just remember that it doesn't make you weak to cry sometimes. It doesn't make you weak to feel. It just makes you human. You are a good person, Harry. Don't feed the darkness inside of you. I don't want to lose my friend._

 _Yours always,_

 _Love Ginny_

 _~Smart girl. I was going to suggest the same thing. McGonagall's been downright miserable and sobbing today. Maybe you should talk to her~_ Sabrina suggested.

 _~Tomorrow, Sabrina. Tomorrow. Now...I need to rest~_ Harry replied, feeling very drained after the day's events.

Once again, Ginny had read Harry like a book. She had been doing that a lot recently. Every time he wrote her a letter, she just seemed to know what he was thinking at the time and what he would be thinking when he read her letter. How did she read him so well from just his words. Was he putting some sort of emotional magical signature into the parchment? He didn't even know of any type of magic or spell that was anything like that anyway, so he couldn't have.

Ginny was an enigma. The more Harry learned about her, the more she seemed to understand him and the more questions he needed answered. As he finally made it to the common room and entered his dormitory, he stopped for a second to ponder the mysteries of Ginny Weasley before getting ready for bed and going to sleep. This was going to be a long year...


	13. Chapter 13: Quidditch

**A/N: Thank you to all who brought up the issues with the last chapter. I have seen the issue now and removed the old chapter. Hopefully, this re-uploaded version will upload normally. I have also tweaked the chapter slightly as someone pointed out that I accidentally had Harry forget that McGonagall mentioned Snape and Lily's friendship when he spoke to Harry at the feast. That paragraph with Harry's confusion has now been changed to make more sense with the knowledge of both of his parents' backstories. Enjoy.**

Chapter 13: Quidditch

As Harry woke up in the morning, he smiled as he remembered what today was. It was finally time for the first Quidditch match of the school year; Gryffindor versus Slytherin. He had been training with the Gryffindor team for several weeks now and had quickly gotten the hang of flying and how to play the game. At some point over October, he had received a Nimbus 2000, the fastest broom made so far, from McGonagall and had quickly gotten used to the increase in speed. The Slytherin team wouldn't know what hit them this year.

When Harry was finally ready for the day, he came downstairs to see Ron and Hermione waiting for him. Ever since the Halloween incident, Harry and Hermione had 'befriended' Ron and had effectively got Dumbledore off of Harry's scent. They slowly fed Ron some truthful, exaggerated and false information which the boy would then tell Dumbledore, making the man think that Harry was starting to act correctly and that everything was going according to plan. Harry didn't know why he didn't think of doing this before as he got information from Dumbledore through Ron's mind while the Headmaster was left in the dark about the truth.

"Hey, Harry! How are you feeling?" Hermione asked.

"I feel great. A bit nervous though," Harry replied.

"You'll be fine, mate," Ron said.

"We know that you can do it, Harry. After all, it's in your blood. If your father can been a top Quidditch player, then so can you," Hermione said encouragingly.

Harry found out a while ago that his father was a Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team and became captain while he was at Hogwarts. He learned this from McGonagall when she told him stories about James and Lily. In the end, Ginny was absolutely right. Ever since Halloween, it was a normal occurrence for Harry to go to McGonagall's office over the weekend and the two would just talk about how school was going, what Harry's parents and their friends got up to and how his parents progressed from their school days to adulthood.

From talking to McGonagall, Harry learned that Snape used to be Lily's best friend and had a severe rivalry with James that turned into prank wars and bullying, though mostly on James' end. When Harry asked how his father managed to get together with his mother if he was such a bad person, McGonagall told him what Lily once told her. Lily said that James changed one day and finally grew up. This also coincided with an incident where he saved Snape's life and Snape called Lily a foul name as his anger consumed him. It was a name that his pureblood Slytherin friends called muggle-borns. Snape and Lily's friendship ended that day and James, likely feeling partly responsible for not only Snape's near-death, but the end of a friendship, changed for the better and finally won Lily's heart after all those years.

Harry felt calm and at peace as he heard about his parents' lives from McGonagall. He finally knew things about them and could paint a picture of them and their lives in his head. There was his father; a dark-haired man with mischievous brown eyes covered by glasses and a roguish smile, and his mother; a beautiful, red-haired woman with bright, piercing green eyes and a warm, caring smile. At last, he felt complete in a way that he hadn't felt in years. McGonagall had also given him an album of pictures of his parents, which he was very thankful for.

Another thing that had occurred since Halloween was that Snape never insulted Harry anymore. Instead of the usual glare that the potions master usually gave to the other students, the man would only look at Harry with guilt and regret in his eyes. After hearing about his time at Hogwarts with James and Lily, Harry understood now why Snape both hated him and why he would feel so guilty. Harry was the son of his enemy, yet also of his best and likely only real friend. He looked like James, but had Lily's eyes. Both of them together. One thing was for sure; Harry needed to talk this out with Snape once and for all. Clearly, the man had a rough life as well. There was no need for them to be enemies when they could help each other to get over the bad things that had happened to them. Besides, having another ally who Dumbledore trusted and told secrets to wasn't a problem either.

With those thoughts in his head, Harry went down to breakfast with Ron and Hermione to get something quickly before heading off to the changing rooms for the match. Once there, Hedwig swooped down after seeing Harry and gave him a letter from Ginny.

 _Hi Harry,_

 _Good luck for the match today! I know that you're feeling nervous now, but don't be. I know that you'll be fine out there. After all, anything is possible if you've got enough nerve. Just stick to your training and it'll be a breeze. Anyway, how's my lovely brother doing? Still being a pain in the arse? I still can't believe that you actually let him follow you around now, even if it is part of your plan. Just be careful around him. Don't give him any cause for concern to tell Dumbledore. Everything's fine over here. Mum still hasn't caught Hedwig giving me your letters yet. You found a keeper there. She's got to be the most intelligent owl I've ever seen. Then again, I've only seen Errol and his father, and they were dumb. Errol still flies into the closed window in the kitchen after how many years. Seriously, it's not even a joke anymore. Mum's been talking about you and Ron non-stop since you became 'best friends' though. I think that she's trying to get me upset and finally hate you so that they can use me as another pawn in Dumbledore's schemes. She still has no idea about us. I can't wait to see her face next year when she finds out that we've been writing to each other all year. That's about it from me. I know that this letter has been rather short, but you're the one with all the information and adventure at the moment. I've not really got much to say here. Give Hermione my best and give Slytherin a thrashing that they'll never forget for me._

 _Love Ginny_

Harry grinned as he read Ginny's letter. Yes, next year was certainly going to be entertaining once she entered their circle. He was glad that she was still alright, but he knew that he would eventually need to sort Mrs Weasley out one day if she continued her feeble attempts at trying to break her own daughter. What he wanted to know was why Mrs Weasley and Ron wanted Ginny to be in on their schemes? Could they see how important she was in all of this? They must have some idea as they didn't seem to care about any of the other members of their family. Maybe it was because she was younger and more impressionable than the older boys as it was clearly obvious that they all had completely different personalities and ideals that were not suited for Dumbledore's plan. Either way, Harry would protect her from the old man's schemes, whatever it took. He would not lose her now.

"Hey Harry, who's the letter from?" Ron asked bluntly, trying to get a peek at the letter.

"It's Helen. She's asking how I was and wished me luck for the match," Harry lied.

"But she's a muggle! You shouldn't be telling her about Quidditch!" Ron exclaimed.

"I know that, Ron. That's why I said that it was a football match. You know, the muggle sport that Dean always talks about," Harry explained.

Ron thought for a second before remembering and accepting it, going back to his food. Harry merely smirked as his lies worked again. Ever since Ron became friends with him and Hermione, he had to make up a story for whenever Ginny sent her letters as Ron was extremely nosy and even he would surely notice that the letter was blank. Therefore, Harry had created 'Helen'.

Harry said that 'Helen' was an old school friend from his muggle primary school that he kept in contact with. He said that she had a mailbox, so he got Hedwig to leave the letters in there to prevent her from asking questions about Hedwig and the Wizarding World. Ron never thought twice on it and never looked at his letters again once 'Helen' was mentioned. Clearly the redhead didn't see her as a threat, likely due to her being a muggle and that, in his mind, he thought of himself as superior, though he never expressed that thought. After all, the Weasleys weren't supposed to be blood purists. Mrs Weasley and Ron were the only exceptions to this, so they remained quiet.

After resolving the letter issue, Snape walked by and stopped behind Harry. It seemed as though the man wanted to say something, but he was struggling to get the words out. Eventually, he seemed to figure out the best thing to say.

"Good luck today, Potter. Since you've proven yourself against a troll, a game of Quidditch should seem like easy work for you if your genes are anything to go by...even if it is against Slytherin," Snape said, interestingly without a hint of his snide attitude like usual.

With that, Snape walked away, leaving the trio confused at the man's actions. Ron was the first to speak, though it seems as though he hadn't paid any attention to Snape's tone and body language.

"Don't listen to him, mate. He's just trying to make you nervous," Ron said casually.

"But he wasn't, Ron. There wasn't that tone in his voice. He actually wished me luck for some reason..." Harry replied.

This was a strange development. Had Harry's comments on Halloween actually made Snape think and change his attitude after all? It was obvious now that he needed to talk to Snape soon to get to the bottom of things. He wanted to know how bad was the rivalry between Snape and James as McGonagall never really knew all of the details. Interestingly, it was only James that Snape talked about too. He never spoke about Lily. Why did he never talk about his old friend? Was it simply the guilt of ruining their friendship? Or was there more to it than that? More questions formed in Harry's mind as he kept musing. Hopefully, they'd be answered very soon.

Eventually, Harry finished his meal and headed off to the Gryffindor changing rooms. Donning his new red and gold Quidditch robes, that Wood gave to him as he entered the changing rooms, for the first time, he grabbed his Nimbus 2000 and headed out to join his teammates.

"Hello, Harry. You nervous?" Wood asked.

"A little," Harry replied.

"I felt the same way before my first game," Wood said with a slightly cringed expression.

"What happened?" Harry enquired.

"I don't really remember. I took a bludger to the head a few minutes in...then woke up in the Hospital Wing a week later," Wood replied.

'Way to make me feel better, Wood,' Harry thought.

 _~Don't listen to him, Harry. Besides, you're not the one the Slytherins will be targeting. Wood's their target. Just remember to focus on the Snitch and you can't go wrong~_ Sabrina advised.

Harry nodded as he felt Sabrina wrap tightly around his arm as the gates opened. He then mounted his broom with his team and took off into the air, hearing cheers from the students and teachers as they all flew around with the Slytherin team.

Eventually, the two teams were called onto the middle of the pitch by Hooch as she came into the centre circle on the ground with the Quidditch chest.

"Now I want a nice clean game...from all of you!" Hooch warned, looking specifically at the Slytherins.

Hooch then opened the chest, letting the bludgers and the Snitch fly off. She then grabbed the Quaffle and threw it up into the air, signalling the beginning of the game as the two sets of Chasers went to grab the Quaffle.

Fortunately, one of the Gryffindor Chasers, Angelina Johnson, got the Quaffle and sped towards the Slytherin goals. She effortlessly threw the Quaffle straight past the Slytherin Keeper and scored the first 10 points of the game for Gryffindor. Another Chaser, Alicia Spinnet, got another goal, putting Gryffindor 20 points up.

However, as the Gryffindors were celebrating the goals, Harry noticed the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, grab one of the Beater's bats and hit a bludger straight at Wood in an attempt to knock him out and leave the Gryffindor goals wide open.

"Fred! Throw me your bat now!" Harry ordered.

Fred then also noticed the bludger and threw the bat to Harry as he asked since he was the closest to Wood. Harry sped off, caught the bat and got in front of Wood just before the bludger hit him. Harry then swung the bat and sent the bludger flying back the way it came, making the Slytherins fly away and regroup as they watched the bludger fly out of the pitch's boundaries.

"I did say that you would be a fair Beater if you weren't a Seeker. It seems like I was right. Thanks for the save," Wood said.

"No problem. Just don't let any of the Slytherins get past you and I'll get the Snitch. The Slytherins are getting desperate and erratic. We've got this game in the bag," Harry replied before flying off and giving Fred his bat back.

Harry then smirked at the Slytherins as they glared at him for ruining their plan. As the game continued as normal again, the Slytherins found another way to try to cheat their way to victory and began to manoeuvre either side of Angelina she sped off towards the Slytherin goals with the Quaffle.

Harry saw this and watched in anger as the two Slytherins slammed into Angelina's sides at the same time, pinning her in the middle of them. They then steered her into one of the pillars, took the Quaffle from her and let her plummet to the ground. Fortunately, she had only broken some bones, but any higher could've been fatal.

Harry got even angrier as he saw the Slytherins fly away with grins on their faces while Hooch didn't seem to do anything. Surely that was a foul. What the hell was Hooch looking at the miss Angelina's fall? It took all of his willpower, and Sabrina's calming hissing, to not go over to the Slytherins and slam them into one of the pillars and give them a taste of their own medicine.

Once Harry was calm, he then began to look around for the Snitch again and grinned as he saw a shining golden glimmer above one of the stands. Not wasting another second, he sped off after it. Unfortunately, the Slytherin Seeker, Higgs, had been watching Harry and saw him heading towards the Snitch. As Higgs also started to speed up, Harry realised that the chase was now on and the match was in his hands.

Just as the Snitch was starting to become clearer, Harry felt his broom suddenly stop and start to shake violently. Something was seriously wrong. It couldn't be a fault with the broom; it was brand new, which meant that it was being sabotaged.

 _~Damn it! Someone's jinxing my broom!~_ Harry hissed to Sabrina, _~Know any counter-curses?~_

 _~I've never come across a jinxed broom before! Just hold on!~_ Sabrina said, not knowing what else to do or say.

As Harry began his struggle to stay on his broom, Hermione was watching from the stands with her binoculars in horror.

"Harry's broom is being jinxed! He can't control it anymore!" Hermione cried out as she realised what was happening.

"Jinxing the broom?! But who's doing it?!" Ron exclaimed.

Ron then grabbed the binoculars and looked behind Harry at the professors' box. He saw Snape muttering something while keeping his eyes locked on Harry. This triggered alarms in Ron's head and automatically thought that it was Snape, completely missing Quirrell's staring at Harry in concentration.

"It's Snape! He's muttering some sort of curse!" Ron accused.

"Give them here!" Hermione demanded as she took the binoculars back.

Hermione then looked at Snape and saw that Ron was right about the man muttering something, but she also noticed Quirrell behind Snape. Considering Snape's attitude lately, it seemed highly unlikely that he was the one jinxing Harry's broom and it seemed as though he was instead muttering a counter-curse. However, Ron didn't need to think that she, or Harry once she told him, disagreed with him. After all, the more false things that Ron thought and told Dumbledore, the better it would be for Harry.

"You're right. Don't worry. Leave everything to me," Hermione said before making her way through the crowd to the professors' box.

Once Hermione left, Harry's situation had started to get worse as his broom began to become more violent as it tried to shake him off. Finally, the broom span around and managed to make his legs slip off, leaving him hanging on for dear life.

 _~Don't you dare let go!~_ Sabrina ordered.

 _~I wasn't planning on letting go! Coil around my arm as tight as you can! It's only going to get rougher now!~_ Harry ordered back.

Harry wasn't wrong as the broom began lurching and jutting in earnest again as the saboteur could see that it was only a matter of time before Harry would falter and his grip would slip. However, hope was coming.

Fortunately, the Gryffindor fans were not situated very far from the box, so it didn't take Hermione long to get up there. Once she was there, she thought about what to do to break Quirrell's concentration while making Ron think, if he was looking up, that she had gone for Snape. That was when she thought of the perfect plan.

"I'm so sorry, Professor Snape..." Hermione apologised quietly as she set Snape's robe on fire.

Hermione then made her way down and looked up to see Snape get told about his robe, causing him to quickly stand up, knocking many people, including Quirrell, over. With his concentration broken, Harry's broom was finally free.

As the broom calmed down, Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled himself back up and smoothly mounted it again before flying off to find Higgs and the Snitch. Fortunately, it seemed as though the Snitch had given Higgs the slip as the Slytherin Seeker was glancing around everywhere for another glimmer of gold.

The two Seekers didn't have to wait very long as they both saw the Snitch flying above the middle of the pitch. The two of them both sped off after the Snitch, slowly closing in on the golden ball. Seeing that they were still neck and neck, Higgs resorted to attempting to muscle Harry out of his way.

Unfortunately for Higgs, Harry wasn't the weak little boy that he appeared to be. Harry glared at Higgs and he came in for his own side slam, knocking the older boy aside further than he knocked Harry. Though surprised at Harry's strength, it didn't deter Higgs as he went back for another side slam.

This continued until the Snitch made a sudden dive that the two Seekers only just managed to follow before flying over the top of the Snitch. It didn't seem as though it was going to stop and was heading straight for the ground underneath it. Fearing that he wouldn't right himself in time, Higgs stopped and levelled himself early, but Harry kept going undeterred by the Snitch's attempt at getting away.

Eventually, the Snitch levelled off just before hitting the ground, followed closely by Harry, who amazed the crowd as his quick manoeuvre. Realising that the Snitch was still too far away to grab while sitting on his broom, he proceeded to carefully stand up and reach out for the Snitch. Unfortunately, he was still just short of grabbing it.

Thinking quickly, Harry stepped forward, knowing that the broom would tip forward as he put his weight onto the front of it. As the broom began to cave in under the unbalanced weight, Harry used this moment to launch himself forward just before the broom's front end hit the ground, giving him a near-linear trajectory. This was the added boost that he needed as he was finally able to close the distance and close his hand around the Snitch. He then landed on the ground and rolled forward before getting to his feet.

Everyone was waiting patiently as Harry then held the Snitch up in the air and Hooch blew her whistle to end the match. Gryffindor had won. The rest of the team then flew down and picked Harry up as everyone cheered for him, taking him back into the changing rooms. Once changed, the team went back to the common room where the rest of Gryffindor, along with Hagrid, were waiting to celebrate their victory.

Harry went along with it as, for once, he was being celebrated for something that he had actually achieved himself. He was hoisted into the air again as the Gryffindor house chanted his name and said that with him as their Seeker, Gryffindor would finally win the Quidditch Cup again.

After a while, Harry excused himself and called Ron, Hermione and Hagrid to follow him out to talk to them. Once the four of them made it to the grounds, Harry asked the question that he had a feeling that they could answer.

"So, do any of you guys have an idea about what happened out there?" Harry asked.

"It was Snape! I saw him muttering some sort of jinx under his breath, the slimy git!" Ron blurted out.

"Why would Snape put a curse on 'Arry's broom?!" Hagrid asked incredulously.

"Maybe because he hates me for being James Potter Junior and I was playing against his house? It could be linked to whatever he was doing on Halloween to get that gash on his leg. It looked like it was done by a big animal. Got any guard dogs wandering around the castle?" Harry joked.

"What do you know abou' Fluffy?!" Hagrid enquired worriedly, thinking that Harry had seen his pet.

'Jackpot!' Harry exclaimed mentally as he smiled at his luck.

"So there is a guard dog. How did you manage to acquire such a beast?" Harry questioned, faking his surprise.

"I bough' 'im off an Irish fella I met at the pub las' year. Then I lent 'im to Dumbledore to guard the...uh..." Hagrid explained, catching himself before he let the item's name slip.

"The what?" Harry enquired, trying to push for more information.

"Don't ask any more questions! That's top secret, that is!" Hagrid exclaimed.

"But Hagrid, whatever Fluffy's guarding, someone, maybe Snape, is clearly trying to steal it! I saw the article about the Gringotts intrusion in the Daily Prophet! It's not safe!" Harry said, trying to get Hagrid to talk.

"Professor Snape is a 'Ogwarts teacher. He's not trying to get it. Now listen here, all three of you. You're meddlin' in things that you ough' not to be meddlin' in. Whatever that dog is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel!" Hagrid explained in annoyance.

"Nicolas Flamel?" Harry enquired, looking over to Hermione who had a look on her face that said that she recognised the name. So did he, but he couldn't quite remember where at the moment.

"I should not have said that...I should not have said that...I shouldn't have said that..." Hagrid muttered as he began to walk away from the three students. embarrassed at letting that information slip.

"Come on guys. Back to the common room," Harry said.

The trio then headed back to the common room to see the celebrations finally start to end as everyone began to pack up and head to their dormitories. Ron said that he needed something and that he would return soon. Ron then went upstairs, leaving Harry and Hermione free to talk about this new information in private.

"I've just realised where I've heard that name before. Nicolas Flamel was mentioned on the Dumbledore Chocolate Frog card that I have. It said that he and Dumbledore were partners in alchemy," Harry said.

"Yes, I remember seeing his name in an alchemy book, but he was only mentioned once and it didn't really give much information," Hermione replied dejectedly.

"Don't worry, Hermione, I'm sure that you'll find the answers soon enough," Harry said encouragingly.

" _I'll_ find the answers? Why me?" Hermione asked, wondering why Harry wouldn't look himself.

"Because we all have roles, Hermione. I'm the talented, yet relatively naive boy that Dumbledore wants as his pawn. You're the researcher and, no offense, the bookworm. Dumbledore will expect you to look everything up while I just give ideas and do the practical stuff. If we continue to follow that path, then we won't get any unwanted attention from the old man," Harry explained.

"I guess you're right. I'll do my best then. I'll let you know once I find anything," Hermione said.

"Good, good...Oh, by the way...who really jinxed my broom?" Harry enquired.

"Ron only saw through his biased 'Slytherin are evil' lens, I believe. Yes, Professor Snape was muttering something, but it seemed to be more like a counter-curse. He was trying to save you," Hermione explained.

"Saving me? Interesting...but who was he saving me from, Hermione?" Harry questioned.

"Quirrell. I saw him watching you intently. He wasn't blinking, moving or anything. He was completely focused on you and he didn't look happy as he was watching you either," Hermione answered.

"First the darkness surrounding him at the Leaky Cauldron, then the troll and now this? I have a bad feeling about this. If this keeps up, I fear what's going to happen at the end of this year..." Harry mused.

"Darkness? What darkness?" Hermione asked curiously.

"When I first met Quirrell in the Leaky Cauldron, I sensed the presence of Voldemort in him," Harry explained.

"You-Know-Who?! Inside of Quirrell?!" Hermione exclaimed, shuddering at the thought.

"I'm not sure at the moment. Voldemort had many supporters. Whether it's just the remnants of that connection or whether Quirrell is actually possessed, I can't be sure. We can only keep an eye on him and watch what he does. I have no doubt that it's him that after whatever is in the castle. It may be something to get revenge on me or to bring Voldemort back. I know that he will return somehow," Harry explained.

Hermione chose not to ask any more questions on the matter as it was already a troubling situation. She could only hope that Harry would figure out what to do if what he said turned out to be true.

Once the duo had finished their discussion, Ron came back downstairs and said that he was sorted and asked Hermione for help with his homework. Harry did his homework while she was helping Ron and thought about his next move.

Harry felt bad about sending Hermione on this researching quest as he knew that he was going to find the information himself anyway. He knew that Ron would inevitably tell Dumbledore about Hagrid's slip and Harry's curiosity, which would make Dumbledore happy as it would make the man think that Harry was following the path that he wanted him to follow. Starting from tomorrow night, Harry would be checking Ron's mind to see if he had told Dumbledore and then to see what Dumbledore told him about Flamel and the item locked away in the castle.

After finishing their homework, Harry and Ron said goodnight to Hermione before they went to their dormitories and got ready for bed. What Harry knew for sure was that the year was starting to heat up and he needed to be prepared for whatever was thrown at him from both Dumbledore and Quirrell.


	14. Chapter 14: The Mirror of Erised

Chapter 14: Mirror of Erised

As the trio got busy with their classes and research, they were surprised when December came so soon and it was time for the Christmas holidays. Hermione went home to see her parents while Ron stayed at Hogwarts as his parents went to Romania to see his second eldest brother, Charlie. Unfortunately, Ginny went with them, so letters were more scarce now as Harry was reluctant to sending Hedwig to fly so far so regularly.

Eventually, after Hedwig followed Errol to see where the Weasleys were, Harry and Ginny decided to send a letter a week to give Hedwig a bit of a rest in between each journey, which seemed to make Hedwig happy if her nuzzling was anything to go by for Harry.

With Hermione gone, it was up to Harry and Ron to continue the research on Nicolas Flamel, but they were having no luck. Harry was sure that, knowing Dumbledore, the information would be in the Restricted Section of the library and the old man expected him to go into it because of Gryffindor rashness. Unfortunately for Dumbledore, Harry wasn't in a rash mood, though he was considering an attempt to get inside if his bad luck continued.

Harry had been getting no luck with using Legilimency on Ron over the last couple of weeks. Dumbledore gave Ron no information about Flamel and just wanted to know of Harry's progress. At least his cover wasn't blown as Dumbledore was happy with Harry's continued friendship with Ron and apparent lack of researching.

Even with the bad luck with finding anything related to Flamel, the happy atmosphere of Christmas kept Harry's spirits up and eventually, it was Christmas Day at last. As he woke up, he went downstairs and was greeted by Ron and some presents under the tree in the middle of the common room.

"Morning Ron. What's up?" Harry questioned.

"Morning Harry. I'm just about to open my presents as everyone's gone out now. It seems as though you've got some too," Ron replied with a smile.

Harry's eyes widened in shock. He had never gotten any presents, at least not since his parents died. Who would send him anything?

"I-I've got presents?" Harry enquired sceptically.

"Yeah! Come on! Open them! Seems like Mum sent you a jumper with the rest of us too!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry grinned as he separated the presents with his name on them from Ron's pile. He found that, as Ron said, Mrs Weasley had sent him a 'Weasley jumper'. There were also two more presents, one from McGonagall and another from an unknown source.

The present from McGonagall was his own game of Wizard's chess that she had transfigured and charmed herself. Harry made a mental note to thank her when he next saw her. The other present was a cloak of some kind. On top was a note that read:

 _Dear Harry,_

 _This was given to me by your father before he died. Now, it has been returned to you._

 _Use it well._

Even though the sender's name was not on the note, Harry had a good idea on who could've given this to him; Dumbledore. This was just another part of his scheme to make Harry feel indebted to him. First getting him away from the Dursleys, then giving him his father's old cloak. He had to stop himself from growling as Ron was right behind him and he didn't want to blow his cover.

"Hey, what's that?" Ron asked as he saw Harry looking at the cloak.

"It's some kind of cloak. It was apparently my father's," Harry replied.

"Well, go on then! Try it on!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry put the cloak on and found that the parts of his body wrapped up by the cloak disappeared.

"Wow! What the-?!" Harry tried to say, still in shock at witnessing his body vanish.

"I know what that is! It's an invisibility cloak!" Ron explained.

"Really? Well, this solves our problem with the Restricted Section if we need to go in now," Harry said, grinning.

"You've got that right. Who gave it to you?" Ron asked.

"The note didn't say. It just said; "Use it well."" Harry responded.

"Weird..." Ron said.

A few seconds later, Hedwig flew into the room and dropped another present off into Harry's hands. Looking at the label, he saw that the present was from Ginny.

'Well, that explains where Hedwig's been recently. She must've been with Ginny while she got this present sorted after I sent her present over,' Harry thought.

"Who's that from?" Ron asked.

"Helen," Harry said after a few seconds of thinking, pretending that he was still reading the label.

Ron fortunately accepted the answer and let Harry open the present. He just hoped that Ginny hadn't gotten him anything magical. Fortunately, she hadn't. In the box was a small statute of a black dragon with green crystals for eyes. The note attached to it said:

 _Dear Harry,_

 _When we were in Romania, they had loads of dragon statues of different kinds and colours. This one made me think of you. It's a very rare breed called the Darklight dragon. Apparently, they are surrounded by a dark aura, but are actually affiliated with the light side of magic on the inside. I hope that you like it._

 _Love Ginny_

"What is it then?" Ron asked impatiently.

"A dragon statue. She said that she went to a castle and they were selling some dragon statues. She found one that had my features. See?" Harry said, showing Ron the statue, but not the note.

"That looks just like a Darklight dragon! They're really rare. Some say that they're dark, while other say that they're light or even both. I can't see how that's possible though. They're surrounded by a dark aura and are feared throughout the Wizarding World. I can't see how something like that can be light," Ron explained.

"So, just because something is misunderstood, you label it as dark? That's a bit narrow-minded, Ron. It's called a DarkLIGHT dragon. That suggests that it's both light and dark. It wouldn't be called that if it was only dark. Maybe the dark aura is merely its external appearance and it actually has a good heart on the inside. Have you ever thought of that?" Harry questioned.

"Well, uh..." Ron stammered, not able to answer.

"Remember to make sure that you know all of the facts before you give an informed opinion, Ron. It could give you trouble in the future if someone disagrees with you and they have more evidence to back themselves up," Harry explained bluntly, not too happy with the redhead's narrow-minded opinions.

For the rest of the day, Ron was rather silent, which was a big relief for Harry as he was getting tired of listening to the redhead talk on and on about such trivial matters. That night, Harry decided to put his new cloak to use and went out to do some late-night research. Besides, this would make Dumbledore think that everything was going to plan and that Harry was a true Gryffindor at heart. He had no problem in taking advantage of that.

Harry was able to slip into the library no problem and quietly crept into the Restricted Section once he made sure that the coast was clear. He then used the Lumos spell and looked around until he found the section related to alchemy and search through the names until he got to names beginning with 'N'. Unfortunately, he found nothing written by a Nicolas Flamel, but he did find something that caught his eye about alchemical products. As soon as he opened it, however, it let out a piercing scream until he shut it and put it back on the shelf.

"Who's there?!" Filch called angrily.

 _~Get your cloak and run, Harry! Run!~_ Sabrina cried.

Harry quickly extinguished the light from his spell and put his cloak back on just before Filch walked around the corner.

"I know you're in there! You can't hide! Show yourself!" Filch demanded.

Harry silently made his way out of the library and walked back towards the Grand Staircase to go to the common room, but he was stopped when he saw Snape pinning Quirrell against the wall in front of him.

"S-Severus! I-I-I d-don't-" Quirrell stuttered.

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell. Now tell me what you're trying to do," Snape threatened.

"W-what do y-you m-mean?" Quirrell asked unconvincingly.

"You know exactly what I mean. What-" Snape said before he stopped suddenly.

Snape then turned around to face the direction of Harry. Harry then put his hand over his mouth to stop his breathing from being heard too loudly and stepped away slightly. Fortunately, this was enough as Snape reached out, but couldn't reach far enough to grab the cloak off of Harry.

Snape then turned back to Quirrell and pulled him up higher by the collar.

"We'll have this discussion at another time, Quirrell, when you decide where your loyalty lies," Snape said ominously.

Filch then came around the corner and got an ear-splitting grin on his face when he saw Snape and Quirrell.

"Ah, professors! I believe that I caught someone in the Restricted Section. They just ran off, so that means that there's a student still out of bed!" Filch explained manically.

The three staff members rushed down the corridor in an attempt to catch anyone, but Harry was luckily away from them. Once he saw that they were out of sight, he entered the door next to him in an attempt to try and find a different way to the Grand Staircase. The room was large and open, with nothing inside apart from a single mirror in the middle of the room.

 _~That's strange. Hey, there's something written on the top of the frame~_ Sabrina commented.

 _~"Erised_ _stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi". It's not in any language that I've heard of...What could it mean?~_ Harry pondered.

 _~Maybe it's some kind of coded message~_ Sabrina suggested.

 _~Maybe...Wait, of course! Erised is desire backwards! If I read it from the end backwards then...Yes! "I show not your face but your heart's desire". Interesting...~_ Harry said.

Harry walked up to the mirror and looked into it to see his reflection. Just as he was about to turn around as nothing was happening, he then saw two figures appear next to him in the mirror. The first was a young man with jet black messy hair, hazel eyes and glasses. The second was a young woman with long dark red hair, emerald-green eyes and a bright smile on her face. It was them.

"Mum?" Harry asked, not truly believing his eyes.

Harry's mother smiled wider and nodded her head as he turned to look at who he assumed was his father.

"Dad?" Harry asked, receiving the same answer as his mother had given.

There they were. For the first time in so long, Harry could see his parents in front of him. But they were in this mirror. A mirror that showed what he desired most and nothing more. They weren't real. Seeing her son's tormented expression, the mirror Lily placed her hand on his shoulder and tried to comfort him as she smiled at him again. A solitary tear escaped from his eye as he wished, for the umpteenth time, that his parents weren't dead. A wish that had never come true.

Harry's parents then faded away, leaving him alone in the mirror, and in reality, once again. However, that wasn't to last as a new figure appeared in the mirror. A young girl, around his age held his hand and beamed at him. She had bright fiery red hair and chocolate-brown eyes that held nothing but admiration, devotion and love in them.

As Harry watched the young girl, he soon realised that the girl was Ginny. He guessed that he did desire for Ginny to come to Hogwarts soon so that he could talk to her properly, but why would it be as strong a desire as wanting to see his parents again? Just as he thought this, his mirror self and Ginny morphed into adults as a new figure appeared in her arms. It was a small bundle that, on further inspection, had a baby inside. The baby had bright fiery red hair and emerald-green eyes.

Harry stepped back in shock at the image and tripped up, falling onto his back. When he looked at the mirror again, the image had vanished. What had it meant? Why did he see himself and Ginny older? Why did she have a child?

 _~What does it all mean?!~_ Harry hissed in exasperation.

"Hello Harry, my boy," came a voice behind Harry.

Harry turned around to see none other than Dumbledore standing behind him with a grandfatherly smile on his face. Harry had been caught, but the smile on Dumbledore's face seemed to suggest that this was all part of the plan, so Harry was willing to go along with this for now, hoping that he wasn't going to get into trouble and get detentions with the old man. He'd rather have detentions with Filch.

"I see that you, like so many others, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised. I take it that you have realised what it does," Dumbledore said almost questioningly.

Keeping up appearances, Harry looked at Dumbledore with fake confusion, prompting Dumbledore to smile slightly before continuing, making Harry sigh in relief as the old man fell for it.

"I'll give you a hint. The happiest man on Earth would look into the mirror and see himself exactly as he is," Dumbledore explained as he looked at Harry expectantly.

"So...it shows us what we want? Whatever we want?" Harry enquired, keeping the naive child mask on.

"Yes...and no. It shows us nothing more or else than the deepest, most desperate desires of our hearts. Now you, Harry, have never known your parents. Yet you see them standing beside you in the mirror," Dumbledore explained.

Harry stiffened for a second. How did Dumbledore know what he had seen in the mirror. He hadn't felt a mental probe that would suggest Legilimency was used. Did he also know about Ginny?

"However, after tonight, the mirror will be moved to a new home and I must ask you not to go looking for it again. Well, goodnight Harry," Dumbledore said ominously.

"Goodnight, sir. And thank you," Harry said politely.

"Be careful as you go back to your common room now. The other professors may not be as accepting as me," Dumbledore said with that grandfatherly smile of his before he walked out of the room.

 _~Sounds to me as though he actually does want you to find the mirror again~_ Sabrina commented.

 _~Another test to make sure that I'm following the right path. And the 'accepting' part was just another bit to make me feel indebted to him~_ Harry said with a frown.

 _~Interesting how he knew that you'd seen your parents in the mirror, isn't it?~_ Sabrina enquired.

 _~Yes, but he didn't use Legilimency. I felt nothing and his speech seemed like it was planned. He just expected that I would see my parents as it would be normal for someone like me to want them back~_ Harry explained.

 _~True, true. Besides, he didn't make any comment about your second vision now, did he?~_ Sabrina questioned.

 _~No, he didn't. That's what sold me on the speech idea. If he had used Legilimency on me, then he would no doubt have mentioned Ginny, yet he didn't even give any suggestion about another vision. That's comforting at least~_ Harry explained.

 _~Indeed. Still, I didn't think that you cared that much~_ Sabrina teased.

 _~Cared that much about what?~_ Harry asked in confusion.

 _~About Ginny~_ Sabrina replied.

 _"Well, she's my friend. I guess she appeared because I want to see her and talk to her face-to-face. As for the other part, I don't get it. Do you have any ideas?~_ Harry said.

 _~I'm afraid that you're going to have to figure this one out on your own, my Harry~_ Sabrina answered.

 _~So you do know! Tell me already!~_ Harry demanded.

 _~No! There are some things in life that you need to learn by yourself. Your own desires are one of them, my Harry. I cannot tell you what lies in your heart when you don't even know yourself~_ Sabrina responded.

 _~Fine! I'll ask Ginny then. She'll tell me if she knows~_ Harry said, irritated at getting no answers.

 _~You can try, but she'll say the same thing as me. Then again, maybe she'll make you see sense in it~_ Sabrina retorted.

Harry made his way back to the common room without running into anymore professors and thankfully didn't wake any of the boys up. He then got his parchment out and wrote a letter to Ginny, detailing his experience with the Mirror of Erised and what Dumbledore had said. He then woke Hedwig up and, after a protest from her, sent her off to deliver the letter to Ginny.

Harry then got ready for bed and went to sleep, hoping for some answers to this burning question; why would Ginny, grown up with a child be his heart's desire?


	15. Chapter 15: Confrontation with Snape

**A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. With university work and not being too sure about how I wrote this chapter, I've left it for a bit while I made sure that I was happy with it. I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter and the others that I will upload soon once I'm happy with them. Thanks.**

Chapter 15: Confrontation with Snape

Ginny got Harry's letter first thing in the morning. Seeing that Hedwig was clearly tired, she allowed the owl to sleep for a bit before sending a reply back. This gave her time to read Harry's letter and think about what to say.

Ginny had probably read Harry's letter several times over and she still couldn't decide what to write. Half of her was still in shock at what his heart's desire was. Unlike him, she had at least some concept of relationships as she had watched her parents and older brothers with their girlfriends. So, when Harry said that his heart's desire was seeing the two of them older with her holding a baby, she realised that his feelings for her may be more than just friendly. And his description of the baby; red hair and green eyes, screamed out that this was their child.

However, it was obvious that Harry had no idea about relationships as he was completely oblivious to this and seemed to detach his own older self from Ginny's and the child, thinking that it was just hers. For someone so smart, it made her confused as to why he hadn't already realised that the child shared their genes, which made her realise that he was still in the dark about basic human desires and relationships.

Throughout their shared letters, Ginny had been able to partially piece Harry's psyche together. He knew right from wrong, no question about it, and he knew about basic human interaction, but he still wasn't good with deeper, emotional interaction apart from venting negative emotions such as anger. In fact, anger seemed to be a major emotion in him, which made him a more brooding and darker individual than she thought he would be back before she met him.

This lack of positive emotions and understanding about normal human relationships and love was likely down to Harry's upbringing. In some letters, he slipped up about the Dursleys and some of the things that they used to do to him and it made Ginny sick. Clearly, they never showed him any familial love, nor did his aunt and uncle seem to express any feelings of love between the two of them, only giving love to their son. The physical and psychological abuse was even worse by the sound of it, and she didn't even know half of it. She knew that he tried to hide the pain of the abuse behind his mental walls and anger, but it wouldn't help him in the long run. She worried about whether the scars would never heal and that he would never open up, to which she was glad that he had met and befriended Hermione so that she could help him to do so while Ginny wasn't there yet.

Half of Ginny; the side that was crazily in love with Harry, wanted to tell him about relationships and romance in the hopes that they might try to make a go of one themselves. However, the other half of her; the logical side and the side that cared for him deeply, knew that telling him would only manipulate those feelings as he would just believe her without a second thought as she knew more than he did. No, she had to let him figure out his feelings on his own.

With her decision made, Ginny began to write a reply back to Harry and she seemed to time it just right as Hedwig was just starting to wake up as she finished the letter. She gave her letter to the owl and let her fly off towards Hogwarts, hoping that Harry wouldn't be too upset with her lack of answers.

Harry got the letter later on in the afternoon and was eager to see what Ginny had answered with. To his disappointment and initial annoyance, she hadn't given any answers, only that it was something that he needed to figure out for himself as they were his desires, no-one else's, just like what Sabrina had said. Calming himself down, he thought about it logically for the first time since seeing the image and realised that Ginny and Sabrina were right. He couldn't expect them to know what he desired or what he was thinking deep in his subconscious mind.

 _~I told you that she would agree with me~_ Sabrina said.

 _~You did. You were right. I'm sorry for snapping before. I was just-~_ Harry tried to say before being cut off.

 _~Overwhelmed? Confused? That's normal, my Harry. Not many people have their greatest desires shown to them on the spot like that. Even less understand them completely. As for you, the truth and concept of your desire is lost to you as you haven't seen anything that could help you to understand what you have seen. Let's just say that you'll hopefully find out when you're older~_ Sabrina explained without giving too much away.

 _~Alright. I'll accept that explanation for now. Now, we have other matters to deal with~_ Harry replied.

 _~What Dumbledore is hiding here, you mean?~_ Sabrina enquired.

 _~Yes and no. We will have to deal with that, but not until Hermione returns in a few days. What I want to talk about is what we're going to do with Snape~_ Harry responded.

 _~I'd suggest that you wait until Hermione finds out what is in the school before going to have a talk with Snape. That way, you can see if he knows anything about the object~_ Sabrina suggested.

 _~That sounds like a plan. Hopefully it won't take long for her to get the information we need~_ Harry replied.

 _~I don't think that we'll have to worry about that. The amount of time she spends reading library books will mean that she will likely find the answers within the first day...if she hasn't already found the right book and she just skimmed past the information. If that is the case, I would expect her to remember over the holidays as she seems to have a good memory like you too~_ Sabrina said reassuringly.

Fortunately for Harry, Sabrina would turn out to be right as once Hermione returned a couple of weeks later, she instantly remembered a book with some text on alchemy and revealed that the alchemical object linked to Nicolas Flamel was the Philosopher's Stone; the legendary object that could turn metals into pure gold and create the Elixir of Life to make the drinker immortal.

With that knowledge in hand, Harry knew that the time to confront Snape was now. So, after finishing all of his lessons, he made an excuse to Ron and Hermione about forgetting some work in their last lesson and went off towards the dungeons to try and find Snape. Fortunately for Harry, Snape was going through work on his desk in his office with a brooding look on his face. Harry then knocked on the door and Snape's head shot up to see him standing in the doorframe waiting to enter.

"Potter?! What are you doing here?!" Snape asked, annoyed at being interrupted.

"To talk," Harry replied bluntly.

"About what?!" Snape exclaimed angrily.

"About you, my father, my mother, me and Voldemort," Harry answered bluntly again.

"There is nothing to talk about, Potter! Now get out before I take 100 points from Gryffindor and give you detention for a month for disturbing me!" Snape threatened.

"There is everything to talk about when something like the Philosopher's Stone is in the school and Voldemort wants it!" Harry retorted, shocking Snape at his knowledge.

"How did you find out about the stone?" Snape questioned.

"Hermione found a book on alchemy after I linked Nicolas Flamel to the subject. The stone is his crowning achievement. I know that Dumbledore got Hagrid to take it from Gringotts as I saw him do it when we went to Diagon Alley for my school supplies. I also know who's trying to steal it," Harry explained.

"No-one is going to steal the stone," Snape said.

"You know yourself who's trying to do it, Professor. The same man you've been keeping an eye on ever since Halloween...Quirrell," Harry said.

"How did you-?" Snape asked in shock before being cut off.

"I saw your leg. You stopped him then when he used the troll as a diversion. He wasn't happy when he looked at his fallen tool. As for how I really know that Quirrell is the culprit; let's just say that concealing the presence of Voldemort is useless against me. I have had a connection to him ever since my parents died to protect me and the killing curse rebounded," Harry explained.

"Alright, yes I have tried to stop him before and I highly doubt that he will try again now. If that is all, then can you leave now? I am rather busy," Snape said in exasperation.

"No, that's not all. We need to talk about the grudge that you have against my father," Harry said.

"There is nothing to say on the matter! We've already talked about this before!" Snape exclaimed.

"McGonagall told me all about your feud with my father and I have accepted that, but don't act like you were the only victim! You did bad things as well, which only went on to escalate the pranks to what can be classed as bullying. I'm not trying to say that my father was a saint because he wasn't. No-one is. But he changed. He grew up when he had to and became a better person. He and his friends saved your life once and he apologised for his behaviour towards you. I also know that he blamed himself for you nearly dying and for your friendship with my mother being destroyed. However, it wasn't my father that insulted my mother, was it Professor? McGonagall may have told me about your school days, but I want to know the full story from your mouth. Tell me about my mother," Harry explained.

Snape sighed in defeat as the memories of Lily and his time as a student flooded his mind again. Sighing again, he decided to just tell the boy the truth in the hopes of getting him to leave afterwards.

"Fine, I'll tell you. I met her when we were children and just before we went to Hogwarts. I was the one who told Lily that she was a witch. She didn't believe me at first considering that she didn't even know me before then, but when I asked her whether she had done anything strange without knowing how, she began to wonder if I was telling the truth. The Hogwarts letter made her accept it in the end. Unfortunately, it was at this time that Petunia started to grow jealous of Lily and began to resent her for being a witch as Petunia was a normal muggle. She even sent letters to Hogwarts begging to go, but she was denied due to her inability to perform magic. Lily started to spend more time with me then and we began our friendship. In Hogwarts, she was sorted into Gryffindor and I was sorted into Slytherin. James instantly became smitten with Lily and was jealous of me spending time with her all of the time, so he targeted me for pranks with his friends; Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They called themselves the Marauders. I retaliated and it began to get out of hand, especially once I began to socialise with the Death Eaters. It was expected of me, or I would be an outcast as they controlled Slytherin house at the time. I was constantly having to choose between Lily and the Death Eaters as her muggle-born status automatically made her a second-class citizen to them. Unfortunately, everything went bad when I followed James and his friends to the Whomping Willow one night. I was going to try and get them caught, but Remus turned into a werewolf. It turned out that James and the others became animagi to help Remus through the full moon. However, he saw me and went after me as his wolf side took over because there was no Wolfsbane potion at this time. I was nearly killed, but James and Sirius saved me. When Lily found us and tried to heal me, I snapped at being found in such a weak state and called her a Mudblood; the worst insult for a muggle-born made up by the purebloods. She never forgave me for that and I lost her," Snape explained.

"You loved her, didn't you, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Yes...I did..." Snape sighed.

"I'm sorry...for everything that happened...Hmm...so that's why my aunt hated my mother so much..." Harry pondered aloud.

"Yes, she didn't like the fact that her parents were so proud of Lily. She had an inferiority complex that drove her off the edge, turning the sister that Lily loved into a hideous woman...Hold on, how do you know about your aunt?" Snape explained.

"Because I've been living with them. Why?" Harry replied in confusion.

"Dumbledore said that he took you away to train you. He addressed the entire British magical population and got an article about it published in the Daily Prophet!" Snape exclaimed.

"So that's why people were surprised and didn't believe me when I said that I live with muggles. That bastard lied to everyone to save his own arse!" Harry growled.

"What do you mean by that?" Snape questioned.

Harry thought about answering Snape for a minute, but he was unsure about whether Snape might just go to Dumbledore with the information. He had no idea whose side Snape was on.

 _~You need to tell him, my Harry. If you want to resolve this grudge and gain Snape's trust, this is the only way. I highly doubt that he will sell you out if he truly cared about your mother~_ Sabrina said, sensing Harry's inner struggle.

"Well, Potter?!" Snape asked, irritated.

"Sorry, Professor. You see, I read my parents' will in Gringotts a few years ago and it said that I was not to be placed with my aunt and uncle under any circumstances. I suspect that Dumbledore lied about my location, likely not even saying where I was, so that he would be exempt from any legal issues as he never would've expected me to find the will and find out about his lies," Harry explained.

"I can't believe that he would lie about this. He told me that you would need protection when you got to Hogwarts. Why would he contradict himself?" Snape wondered aloud.

"He's not contradicting himself. It's all a game to him. We're all supposed to be pawns in his great master plan for the 'Greater Good'. Unfortunately for him, I decided against being used by him," Harry explained.

"Why is he doing this?" Snape asked quietly, more to himself than Harry.

"Because he has become obsessed with power and glory. Ever since the Prophecy was made, he feared that he would lose all of his influence. What better way of gaining more influence than being the mentor of the next great light wizard. And if said wizard died and Dumbledore avenged him, he would be a hero again," Harry explained.

"I suppose...He hasn't been acting right since the end of the war...Wait a minute, why is Dumbledore convinced that you will die?!" Snape pondered in panic.

"Because until I found out about the Wizarding World, I was one of Voldemort's accidental horcruxes," Harry replied casually.

"A horcrux?! But that sort of magic is-!" Snape exclaimed before being cut off.

"The most evil thing imaginable? Yes, it is. You know what is needed to create one. My father and mother's murders were the sacrifices for that horcrux. However, due to the number that Voldemort had created already, his soul was unstable, so it instantly split and made another horcrux without his knowledge. Fortunately for me, goblins are experts in getting rid of such things," Harry explained.

"I thought that he couldn't get any worse..." Snape mused.

"He has time to get worse, trust me," Harry responded.

"What do you mean?" Snape enquired.

"Possessing Quirrell won't be enough forever. Eventually, he will want a body of his own, I have no doubt about that. The horcruxes keep his soul tied to the Earth, so he has all the time in the world to find a way to get a new body. I have to destroy them as soon as I find them or the next war will be worse than the last," Harry explained.

"That sounds about right. He never was one to like help, especially when he had to rely on someone to get something that he deemed to be important," Snape said.

"Yes...Professor...I know that part of you is still unsure about me, but remember this; I'm not asking for friendship or for you to just easily wave your grudge away. All that I'm asking you is to help. Help to stop a war from happening again so that no more children become orphans," Harry asked.

Snape looked into the boy's eyes, analysing them with his scrutinising gaze. As he looked deeper, he finally saw the part of Harry that was Lily. The part that he had somehow missed for all of this time. He also saw something that he knew all too well. Harry had maturity behind those eyes that he shouldn't have. He saw the pain and suffering that he too had when he was a young boy. It seemed as though they had more in common that he previously thought. Both had a abusive family that left their scars and forced them to grow up years before they should've.

"I understand, Potter...You are dismissed," Snape said with a sigh.

Harry nodded and turned around to leave before Snape said one last thing.

"If I find any leads, I will contact you. I promise," Snape said.

Harry gave a small smile of gratitude before leaving the office and heading back to the common room, leaving Snape alone at his desk again. Harry had made him think long and hard about things since Halloween. Now, he realised just how much of a fool that he had been. He couldn't see beyond his past and that cost him dearly. He promised to protect Lily's son and he had insulted and attacked him at every turn. But no longer. He knew what he had to do. He would keep his promise to Lily and make sure that Harry would survive through this to fulfil the Prophecy. He would set aside his differences with James as the other man had and do what was best for the Wizarding World. As he thought this, a weight seemed to be lifted off of his shoulders and a smile crept onto his face. He hadn't smiled in so long. It felt nice.

Snape then went back to marking the essays with a new lease of life. He could also swear that he heard a voice say "thank you" to him.

"I will make things right, Lily and James...I promise you," Snape said, hoping that they could hear him.

 **A/N: I hope that this clears up Harry's view on the image in the Mirror of Erised and everyone is alright with Snape being an ally now. Stay tuned for the next chapter coming soon.**


	16. Chapter 16: The Philosopher's Stone

**A/N: I apologise for the long delay between the last chapter and this one. My final university exams came up and then I finished and started working. I have tried to work on some chapters, but I still have some things to iron out on some before I upload them. Anyway, Harry finally goes after Quirrell and tries to save the stone. I hope that you enjoy it. Bye guys.**

Chapter 16: The Philosopher's Stone

The next few months went by rather quickly for Harry and his friends as they began to plan the rescue of the Philosopher's Stone. Snape had been a great help and kept his promise about contacting Harry, telling him about each of the different challenges that they would need to face and who Dumbledore expected to complete them. Fortunately for Harry, Dumbledore seemed to trust Snape with information more than Ron, likely due to the old fool still believing that the two hated each other.

Harry had also kept Ron believing that he thought that Snape was the one trying to steal the stone to keep Dumbledore in the dark about their secret alliance. From Snape, Harry discovered that the door to the first challenge was at the very end of the forbidden Third Floor corridor and that there would be seven challenges awaiting them.

The first was getting past Fluffy, which Snape said was easy as the Cerberus fell asleep to the sound of music. This was Hagrid's challenge and had no specific individual to complete it.

The second was a Devil's Snare, which would be simple to pass through as long as they stayed calm and relaxed; something that Ron would likely have trouble with. This was Sprout's challenge and Dumbledore thought that Hermione would be the one to know how to complete it.

The third was flying on a broom to catch a battered flying key to open a door that couldn't be unlocked by magic. This was Flitwick's challenge and the one that Harry was meant to complete.

The fourth was playing a human-sized version of Wizard's Chess that had the challengers play as chess pieces. This was McGonagall's challenge and the one that Ron was meant to lead as he was a good chess player and strategist.

The fifth was a troll and it was expected that Voldemort would either kill the beast before Harry and the others got there, or Harry would knock it out as he did back on Halloween. This was Quirrell's challenge.

The sixth was finding the right potion to take someone through the flames to the last challenge. This was Snape's challenge and he left a clue for Harry to figure out which one it was as he had a feeling that the boy would at least want some challenge and he didn't want to take that from him by giving him the answer. Snape also told Harry that while the potion would refill, only one could go through the flames out of any party. Dumbledore did this charm work himself as he wanted the final challenge to be between Harry and Voldemort. However, Dumbledore did expect Hermione to figure out which potion was the correct one, showing that he still didn't think much about Harry's research capabilities or his common sense.

The seventh and final challenge was getting the Philosopher's Stone out of the Mirror of Erised as that was where Dumbledore had somehow placed it. Snape said that Dumbledore knew that only Harry would get it as Harry didn't want to use the stone, only to get it and keep it safe. It was Dumbledore's test to see whether Harry still had a pure heart and was therefore still a naive and noble Gryffindor.

After Snape told Harry everything, he told Hermione and they decided on going to the Third Floor the next night. So, after classes and getting Ron, the trio snuck out under Harry's invisibility cloak and made their way to the Third Floor corridor. Harry then led them to the door that Snape mentioned and opened it to reveal a sleeping Fluffy with a harp playing on its own next to him.

"Snape's already come through here. We have to move fast," Harry said.

"Yeah. We've got to stop that greasy-haired git!" Ron hissed quietly.

The trio then noticed a trapdoor underneath one of Fluffy's paws and carefully moved it aside before opening the door and jumping down just as the harp stopped playing. They landed on something soft and lumpy and Harry didn't take long to figure out what they had landed on; Devil's Snare. Vines then began to wrap around the three Gryffindors as they began to struggle slightly. Hermione, realising what the plant was, stopped instantly.

"Guys! This is Devil's Snare. You have to relax. If you don't, it will only kill you faster," Hermione warned.

"Kill us faster?! Well, now I can really relax!" Ron retorted angrily.

Harry struggled more to keep up appearances in front of Ron until Hermione was pulled down to the next level below.

"Harry! Relax!" Hermione ordered.

"Hermione?! Where are you?!" Harry asked for Ron's benefit.

"I'm down below you! Just do it! Trust me!" Hermione answered, getting worried about the two boys.

Harry then stopped struggling and allowed the Devil's Snare to take him under, dropping him down to Hermione.

"Are you ok?!" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just wish that it won't be that annoying to keep this mask up," Harry replied.

Harry and Hermione then heard Ron screaming in fear as the vines continued to wrap around him.

"He's not relaxing, is he?" Hermione asked rhetorically.

"What did you expect?" Harry retorted.

"I remember reading about Devil's Snare in Herbology...'Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare, it's deathly fun'...'But will sulk in the Sun'! That's it! Devil's Snare hates sunlight! Lumos Solem!" Hermione exclaimed, casting the spell underneath where Ron was, causing the Devil's Snare to release the redhead, making him fall to the ground below hard.

"Ouch! Phew! Lucky that we didn't panic," Ron said nonchalantly.

"Lucky that Hermione pays attention in Herbology," Harry retorted, grinning at the annoyed expression on Ron's face.

"Come on! Let's head to the next room," Hermione said.

The trio then went through the door to find a tall room with a door on the other side and a broom in the middle. Ron went straight up to the door and tried to unlock it with the unlocking charm, but failed.

"Look up!" Hermione called, pointing to the flying keys above them.

"We need to find the key for the door. It's got to be an old-fashioned one. Something rusty, just like the handle," Ron said.

Harry then saw a rusted silver key with a broken wing and walked over to the broom, placing his hand over it.

"Get ready to catch the key when I hand it to you and open the door as quickly as you can. I have a bad feeling about this," Harry ordered.

Ron and Hermione nodded as Harry grabbed the broom and mounted it. As soon as he touched the broom, the keys began to fly towards him and attack him, trying to break his concentration. However, he would not be stopped by such pests. He quickly flew in front of them and saw the rusted key flying above him, trying to get away. Picking up speed, he caught up with the key and grabbed it like a Snitch.

Harry then did a sharp u-turn and headed towards Ron and Hermione.

"Catch!" Harry ordered, throwing the key down and heading back up with the keys still on his tail.

Hermione just caught it before it tried to fly away again and unlocked the door, getting inside the next corridor as she was followed by Ron. Harry then did another u-turn in the air and heading through the door, with Ron and Hermione just able to close the door before any keys could get inside.

As the trio walked into the next room, they noticed how dark it was. Harry bet that something theatrical was about to happen as he looked at the floor and saw the black and white checker pattern on the floor.

"No way...This is a giant chessboard!" Ron exclaimed as the lights came on to reveal human-sized chess pieces.

The three of them saw the door on the other side of the chessboard being guarded by the white chess pieces and saw the empty spaces. At that moment, Ron realised what they needed to do.

"We've got to play our way across the room. Harry, you take the empty bishops square. Hermione, you take the queen's side castle. As for me...I'll be a knight," Ron ordered.

Harry watched as Ron orchestrated a brilliant game of Wizard's Chess and wished that Ron didn't have to be an enemy as a good strategists would be useful. Maybe he might be able to sway Ron away from Dumbledore influence later on. Unfortunately for Ron, it was time to end the game as he sacrificed himself to allow Harry to checkmate the white king, winning them the game.

"What do we do now?" Hermione asked as she and Harry ran to check on Ron.

"I'll go on ahead. Stay for about ten minutes before going to the potions room and finding the potion to take you back. If there's a potion to get you through, then I have no doubt that there is one to get anyone back to the main school levels. Give some to you and Ron, then take him to the Hospital Wing. If Dumbledore asks what happened, tell him that you helped me to figure out what potion to use before you came back with Ron and don't look into his eyes," Harry ordered.

"But you'll be on your own against Quirrell!" Hermione exclaimed.

"It was always meant to be so. Dumbledore made sure that the potion would only contain enough for one person to travel through the flames, remember? I have to go on...alone," Harry explained.

"I know...It's just that...Just keep yourself safe, Harry. I don't particularly want to have to tell Ginny that you went off to face him on your own and I let you. She'll kill me!" Hermione teased.

"Shove off!" Harry said in annoyance.

"Fine, fine. I'm sure that you'll be alright. You're a great wizard, Harry. You really are," Hermione said.

"Thanks, Hermione. Now remember; ten minutes-go! See you later," Harry explained as he got up to leave.

"Good luck!" Hermione shouted as she watched Harry go through the door to meet with the next challenge.

Luckily, it seemed as though Quirrell decided to give Harry a break as he saw the troll slumped up against the floor in a bloody mess and walked on through into the next room.

Harry saw the potions on the table and read the clue that Snape wrote down. He determined that the correct potion was the small round bottle and drank it.

 _~Are you ready for this, my Harry? Once you step through those flames, there's no going back~_ Sabrina warned.

 _~I know and I am ready. I'm more concerned for you though. Will you be alright going through the flames?~_ Harry asked, not wanting to burn Sabrina accidentally just because she was bound to him.

 _~I'm protected, as are you, because I am your familiar. I have the same effects going through me now too. Though I wouldn't think that the flames would get to me anyway while you repel them~_ Sabrina answered reassuringly.

 _~Then here we go~_ Harry said.

Harry then walked through the flames, feeling nothing, and entered the final chamber. As he looked down the stairs, he saw the Mirror of Erised and Quirrell standing before it.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have a here?" Harry asked rhetorically.

"Potter?!" Quirrell exclaimed in shock as he turned around to see Harry.

"The one and only. Now, would you mind telling me what dear old Voldemort's master plan is now?" Harry asked with mock politeness.

"You're cockiness will be your undoing, boy!" Quirrell growled.

"And that thing possessing you will be yours," Harry retorted.

Quirrell frowned and turned back to the mirror, searching for the stone.

"I see what I desire...I see myself holding the stone...But how do I get it?!" Quirrell enquired rhetorically in anger.

"Use the boy!" came a wispy voice.

"Come here, Potter! Now!" Quirrell ordered, pointing angrily at Harry.

Harry guessed that the voice was Voldemort and decided to go along with it, knowing full well that Voldemort would be rather annoyed when Harry got the stone instead of him. Harry then descended the stairs and stood next to Quirrell, looking into the mirror.

"Look and tell me what you see," Quirrell demanded.

Harry saw his mirror self put his hand in his pocket and fish out what Harry assumed was the stone itself before putting it back in his pocket. When Harry put his hand on his pocket, he felt the new lump there. He had succeeded...at the moment.

"What is it?! What do you see?!" Quirrell asked impatiently.

"I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore. I've just won the House Cup," Harry lied, knowing full well that Voldemort would see through it and would hopefully reveal himself.

"He lies!" Voldemort hissed as Harry expected.

"Tell the truth! What do you see?!" Quirrell demanded angrily.

"Let me speak to him," Voldemort ordered.

"But master, you are not strong enough!" Quirrell protested.

"I have strength enough for this!" Voldemort replied.

Harry then watched as Quirrell took his turban off and revealed the face of Voldemort on the back of his head.

"Harry Potter...We meet again..." Voldemort said.

"Life's not treated you well, has it Voldemort?" Harry joked.

"No, it hasn't. You can now see what I have become. You can now see what I had to do to survive. Live off another...as a mere parasite! I have been drinking unicorn blood to sustain me...but it can't give me a body of my own. However...there is something that can...Something that you now conveniently have..." Voldemort explained.

"I didn't think that it would take you long to figure it out. However, you are stupid if you think that you're getting the stone off of me," Harry said.

"Don't be a fool, Harry. Why suffer a horrific death when you could join me and live?" Voldemort enquired.

"You really think that I would join you? You really are stupid," Harry replied.

"Careful, Potter. Wouldn't you like to see your mother and father again? Together, we can bring them back. You see, there is no good and evil. There is only power and those too weak to seek it. Together, we could do extraordinary things. Just give me the stone!" Voldemort explained.

Harry took the stone out of his pocket and stared at it. Could he really use the stone to bring his parents back to life? If it could give Voldemort a new body, surely it could give his parents new bodies too. Also, could he trust Voldemort to keep his end of the bargain? Would joining Voldemort give him the power he secretly desired to protect his friends?

As Harry debated over the offer, he looked into the mirror again and saw something peer out from behind Quirrell/Voldemort. It was Ginny. He looked at the mirror version of her and saw something in her eyes that made him question Voldemort's offer. It was a look that was completely foreign to him, yet it seemed so powerful that he couldn't stop looking at her. What was he thinking? Giving Voldemort the stone wouldn't save his friends or bring his parents to life. Voldemort would turn on him as soon as possible and destroy everything he cared about. As for Ginny...he knew that if he accepted this, he would've destroyed the trust they had in each other. He couldn't lose his first true human friend. With his mind made up, he addressed Voldemort again.

"No...I won't join you...You are a liar and a murderer. I don't need, nor want, your power as I have my own and my friends. You will never have the stone, so I suggest that you give up and leave," Harry responded.

"Kill him!" Voldemort ordered, finally losing his cool.

Quirrell flew forward at a fast speed and grabbed Harry by the neck, knocking him down to the ground as Quirrell began to strangle him.

 _~Harry!~_ Sabrina screamed as she felt Harry struggling for breath.

 _~I've...got...this!~_ Harry responded.

Harry reached for his holly wand and blasted Quirrell back, freeing his neck so that he could get his breath back. As Quirrell got up, he too reached for his wand and the spell fire started.

Quirrell sent very dangerous spells as he tried to kill Harry, but Harry sent off distracting spells to cause the possessed professor to misfire and tire himself out as the amount of spells and the power behind them began to take its toll on him.

"He's toying with you, fool! You're too inaccurate! Just grab the stone!" Voldemort ordered angrily, losing his patience with Quirrell.

Quirrell then lunged for the stone that Harry accidentally dropped when he was being strangled. Seeing this, Harry also lunged for the stone and grabbed Quirrell's hand to pull it away. In an instantly, Quirrell's hand began to burn and turn to dust, making him step back in fear and agony.

"What is this magic?!" Quirrell screamed.

"Fool! Get the stone!" Voldemort ordered again, not caring about his follower's wellbeing.

Realising that he now had a way of getting rid of Quirrell and Voldemort, Harry lunged for Quirrell and wrapped his hands around Quirrell's neck, strangling and burning him until his face began to crack and turn to dust, followed by the rest of his body. Harry then watched as the spirit of Voldemort left the dust pile that was once Quirrell and flew out of the chamber to go back to wherever he was hiding.

Harry then pocketed the stone and went back to the potions room to find that Hermione had left some of the potion to send him back. He then gave some drops to Sabrina and drank the rest, teleporting themselves just outside of the door to Fluffy's room.

 _~That could've gone better, but at least we're both out in one piece~_ Sabrina said.

 _~Unlike Quirrell. Onto more pressing matters; what shall we do with the stone?~_ Harry asked.

 _~We can't let Dumbledore get his hands on it again. We need to keep it safe until we can send it back to Flamel~_ Sabrina replied.

 _~I agree. I'll hide it in my room and place a notice-me-not charm over it just in case Dumbledore tries to get Ron to search for it. Do you think that he'll buy it if I say that it was destroyed in the battle?~_ Harry asked.

 _~Hopefully, but I wouldn't bet on it~_ Sabrina replied.

 _~It doesn't hurt to try. As long as I don't look him directly in the eyes, he won't be able to use Legilimency either to even try and see if I'm lying anyway. Blocking him out may make him suspicious, but I won't risk him trying to learn anything else even if I can create a false memory for him to see~_ Harry said.

 _~It's a plan. Now let's get the stone to your room. Hurry though, or Dumbledore will start to get antsy if you don't appear soon~_ Sabrina said.

Harry wasted no time in sneaking back to the common room. Entering his dormitory, he placed the stone in his trunk and placed a notice-me-not charm on the both the stone and the trunk before closing and locking it back up as an extra pro-caution. He then headed back downstairs and made his way to the Hospital Wing where Madame Pomfrey was tending to Ron and Hermione. Dumbledore was also there waiting for him, it seemed. Dumbledore then turned around, putting on his grandfather mask as he smiled and addressed Harry.

"Harry, my boy! You're back! Thank goodness. What happened?" Dumbledore asked.

"Quirrell's dead. Voldemort was possessing him and tried to get the stone. I managed to stop him, but Voldemort's spirit got away," Harry replied.

"What happened to the stone, Harry?" Dumbledore enquired, trying to look into Harry's eyes.

"I managed to get the stone somehow when I looked into the Mirror of Erised. Unfortunately, when Quirrell attacked me, I dropped the stone and it got destroyed in the spell fire. I'm sorry, sir," Harry explained, hanging his head in mock shame as an excuse not to look into Dumbledore's eyes.

Harry's mock shame seemed to work as Dumbledore nodded and went back to Pomfrey to check on Ron and Hermione. Harry stood to the side, leaning against a wall, as he watched over everything going on. He could tell that Ron was still injured, but Hermione was just sleeping. After a few minutes, Dumbledore called Harry to follow him outside to talk more about what happened, deciding that Ron and Hermione would be alright.

"How are my friends, sir?" Harry asked.

"They will be fine, my boy. Miss Granger is sleeping and Mr Weasley will wake up in the morning," Dumbledore replied.

"Good. So, what else did you want to speak to me about?" Harry enquired.

"You said that you didn't know how you got the stone. I can tell you what I did," Dumbledore said.

"You're right. Go on," Harry said.

"You see, I placed a charm on the stone and Mirror of Erised so that only someone with the correct intentions could get the stone. Only someone who wanted to find the stone and not use it would be able to get it. This protective measure is what prevented Quirrell from getting the stone, but allowed you to get it. It was one of my more brilliant ideas," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes as he praised himself.

"Interesting...I have one other question, sir. When I touched Quirrell, his body turned to dust. Do you know why?" Harry asked, hoping that he may get some information out of the old man.

"It was because of your mother. When she sacrificed herself to save you, she placed a protection on you, meaning that Voldemort would never be able to hurt you. That protection will remain until you become of age. Now, this kind of protection leaves a mark. Not a mark like your scar, though. It lives within your very skin," Dumbledore explained.

"What is the mark, sir?" Harry asked, confused at where Dumbledore was going with this.

"Love, Harry...Love," Dumbledore answered.

"Professor? Why does Voldemort want me dead?" Harry asked, easily faking confusion and intrigue.

"I'm afraid that I'm not sure, Harry...I best take my leave and let you sleep. You must be tired. Goodnight, my boy," Dumbledore quickly answered.

At that, Dumbledore left, telling Harry to get some rest in the Hospital Wing with his friends. He also said not to worry about any punishments as they did a great service to the school. Harry then found a bed and thought about what had happened and what Dumbledore said.

 _~Well, that was certainly interesting~_ Sabrina said.

 _~Yes, it certainly was, and Dumbledore just lied. He knows the prophecy, yet feigned ignorance. I'm glad that I know the truth though, or I would've likely just accepted it. Anyway, we best get some rest. It's been a long day~_ Harry said.

 _~Before you go to sleep, I have one question. Just before you started to fight Voldemort, I saw you looking into the mirror. You seemed almost close to accepting his offer, but you refused after you saw the mirror. What or who was in there?~_ Sabrina asked out of curiosity.

 _~I saw Ginny. I realised that I couldn't betray my friends, so I refused. Does that answer your question?~_ Harry explained.

 _~Yes. Goodnight, my Harry~_ Sabrina responded.

Harry laid his head down on the bed and closed his eyes. After the fight, it didn't take long for Harry to fall asleep. Sabrina remained awake for some time afterwards and wondered what was going to happen next. She contemplated what it meant for Harry to see Ginny in the mirror again just before making a devastating choice.

Sabrina knew how close he was to accepting Voldemort's offer. It was too enticing for him. The fact that the image of Ginny was what stopped him was intriguing, yet he had no idea about how he felt for her. Even with everything she had taught him and how she thought that she had removed some of the psychological damage done by the Dursleys, it seemed as though one thing was still permanent. She couldn't teach him about human relationships, as she didn't know a lot about them either, and that was what was eluding him now.

Sabrina only hoped that Harry wouldn't hurt Ginny too badly over the next couple of years while he tried to understand these things. Hopefully, he'd understand sooner rather than later. Otherwise, it could lead to dire consequences.


	17. Chapter 17: The End of First Year

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long everyone, but I've been busy with work and when I have sat down to write, I haven't been confident enough to put anything up. I feel now as though I am ok and can't edit anything else with the chapters that I have written, so I shall be posted them now. Again, I apologise for taking so long and I hope that you all enjoy the next parts of my story.**

Chapter 17: The End of First Year

As the year ended, Harry was rather pleased with how everything turned out. Thanks to their good strategy and Harry's quick reflexes on a broom, Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup after many years of failures. Gryffindor also won the House Cup, with a little help from Dumbledore's last minute point awards to Harry, Ron and Hermione for saving the stone.

The four houses were actually very close this year, with Slytherin about to win by a mere 10 points before the extra 100 points added to Gryffindor's total by Dumbledore. Hermione got 30 points for her intellect, Ron got 30 points for his chess strategy and Harry got 40 points for his nerve and courage.

Harry knew that Dumbledore was trying to get on his good side with those extra points, but the old fool wouldn't realise that he was far away from Harry's good side until it was too late. But Harry didn't think that Gryffindor winning was a bad thing, of course. It was his house, after all. Once the feast was over, however, everyone had to pack up and head home for the summer, saying goodbye to Hogwarts for another year.

Harry, Ron and Hermione didn't take long to find a compartment to themselves, then they discussed what they would be doing over the summer.

"I don't think that I'll be doing much at home. Just helping around the house, playing Quidditch and messing around with my brothers. What are you going to do, Harry?" Ron said, looking expectantly at Harry.

"I don't really know. I'll likely just do the homework and relax. It'll be nice to get away from the craziness of Hogwarts for a bit, I guess," Harry answered.

Harry noticed that Ron seemed to frown at his answer. He guessed that Ron was expecting him to say something about the Dursleys. Harry then saw Ron change his expression from a frown to a slight grin, which made Harry a bit uneasy. Fortunately, Ron changed the subject quickly after this.

"So, Hermione, what are your plans for the summer?" Ron asked.

"I'm glad you asked. First I'm going to get all of my homework done, then me and my parents are going on holiday to America, then..." Hermione replied, continuing to talk about all of her many plans.

Hermione continued to explain her plans for the remainder of the train ride, much to Harry's relief and to Ron's dismay. Because of this, it didn't feel long before the Hogwarts Express stopped at Platform 9 and 3/4 and it was time to get off and head home.

Hermione bid Harry and Ron goodbye as she went to find her parents, much to Ron's delight as he had gotten annoyed with her constant talking throughout the trip.

"Finally! Mental that one, I'm telling you," Ron exclaimed once Hermione was out of sight.

Harry just shook his head at Ron and looked around for the Dursleys and the Weasleys. He couldn't see the Dursleys, so he assumed that they were waiting outside for him. As for the Weasleys, he didn't have to wait long to see them as they rushed towards Ron with Fred, George and Percy in tow.

'They must have gotten off first then. Then again, with how slow Ron was to get ready, I'm not really surprised,' Harry thought.

Mrs Weasley then hugged Ron with one of her signature bone-crushing hugs before she saw Harry and her face lighted up. Somehow, her eyes and smile didn't make Harry feel comfortable.

"Harry dear! It's so nice to meet you at last. Ron's told us so much about you," Mrs Weasley said.

"Only good things, I hope, Mrs Weasley," Harry said politely.

 _~Yeah. Spied on you, more like~_ Sabrina hissed, not liking the older woman's interest in her wizard.

Harry looked around the Weasley family and finally saw a small figure poking out from behind Mr Weasley's legs. It was Ginny. He felt bad, knowing that she was probably hiding as she didn't know whether to show her family that she knew Harry well and that they were friends.

Half of Harry wanted to greet Ginny, not caring what her family thought, yet the other half didn't want to put her in any danger from her mother and brother over the summer. Then he thought of an idea. He wouldn't let those horrible excuses for family ruin their friendship. He would make sure of that. Eventually, he caught her eye and decided to go for it.

"Are you not going to say hello then?" Harry asked, smirking playfully at Ginny.

Harry's question seemed to break Ginny out of her own turmoil as she took it as a green light to make their friendship public. So, she came out from behind her father's legs and smiled at Harry.

"Hi," Ginny replied.

"Is that all? Am I really that impressive in real life that you're lost for words?" Harry enquired with a roguish grin.

"In your dreams, Potter," Ginny retorted playfully.

Mrs Weasley and Ron were shocked at Harry and Ginny's clear amicability, whereas the rest of the Weasleys were rather curious as they had no idea that they knew each other. Mr Weasley was the one to address the two friends.

"You never told me that you knew Harry, Ginny. How did you two meet?" Mr Weasley asked out of genuine curiosity.

Harry could see that Mr Weasley was genuine. It seemed as though it was only Mrs Weasley and Ron who were in on this scheme with Dumbledore. Hopefully, the rest of the Weasley family could become allies. Therefore, he decided to answer the question on everyone's minds.

"When I was getting onto Platform 9 and 3/4 last September, I saw Mrs Weasley run off and leave Ginny all alone after her brothers went through the barrier. I think that she was looking for someone. Anyway, I approached Ginny and she told me how to get onto the platform. We started to talk and we became friends. We've been writing to each other over the summer. Your daughter has been a big help to me this year, Mr Weasley," Harry explained, making Ginny blush at his praising of her.

"Well, no wonder Ginny's been so happy this year. You've been a big help to her this year too, Harry," Mr Weasley said with a smile.

Harry scanned the rest of the Weasleys for their reactions. Fred and George seemed to be giggling like gossiping schoolgirls, probably thinking of ways to prank everyone and tease Ginny over being friends with him. Percy just looked away, making himself look even more pompous than normal. It was almost like he didn't want to be associated with the family.

As for Mrs Weasley and Ron; their expressions had darkened considerably after he explained how he and Ginny met and became friends. They realised that Ron's letter had somehow failed and they were worried that Harry was starting the catch on since he noticed that Mrs Weasley was looking for someone, but they brushed that part aside since he didn't seem to know who that someone was. As Harry used Legilimency to brush over their surface thoughts, he internally scowled and fumed as he saw what they planned to do to Ginny. He couldn't allow them to do any of those things to her.

"Hold on a second? What about those letters you sent to that muggle girl? Were you lying about them then?" Ron asked sceptically.

"I still wrote to Helen. I just wrote to Ginny as well. You just didn't see those letters to Ginny, neither did you see every letter to Helen. Is it a problem that I had more than one pen pal?" Harry lied.

Harry then grinned as he watched Ron splutter as he tried to apologise and say that it was completely fine to have multiple pen pals so that he didn't anger Harry.

Eventually, it was time for Harry to leave and go to find the Dursleys. The Weasleys said goodbye to him, but not before Ginny rushed up to him and gave him a hug; his second hug ever. Hermione had hugged him for the first time, but it was just friendly and he stiffened up then as he wasn't used to good physical contact. However , this hug felt different somehow. It was warmer and it felt...nicer. Without knowing it, he found himself returning the hug and wrapping his arms around Ginny's small, petite frame, causing her to blush bright red as his arms enveloped her. Eventually, they broke apart, smiling awkwardly at each other.

As he said goodbye to the Weasleys, Harry turned away and walked out of the station, smirking as he thought about what he had just done. He had just subtly cast a notice-me-not charm on Ginny. However, he modified it so that it would only come into play when anyone was trying to harm her physically or psychologically. He just hoped that she wouldn't find out and hate him for being too overprotective, but could she blame him? He would be a bad friend if he didn't protect her from harm while he wasn't there to do so himself, right?

Harry soon found the Dursleys waiting by their car just outside the entrance. However, instead of the annoyed expressions that he was expecting, he was greeted by cruel grins. Something wasn't right here, but he guessed that he would find out when they got to their house. So, he got into the car with the Dursleys as they drove home.

The journey felt like a lifetime with the deafening silence in the car. No-one said a word and it put Harry on edge. When they finally got back to Privet Drive, he became more alert, knowing that as soon as he walked through the doors, the Dursleys were going to attack him. He just knew it.

Harry went in first, followed by the rest of the Dursleys. He made it to the other side of the hallway when Vernon closed and locked the door as his grin widened and a cruel glint appeared in his eye.

"Now it's time to make everything right again..." Vernon said menacingly.

"What are you on about, Vernon?" Harry asked, getting himself into a defensive stance.

"Towards the end of your freaky school year, someone delivered a very interesting package to us. Let's just say that you're not going to get away with your freakishness in this household anymore and you will learn to respect your superiors!" Vernon explained.

At that moment, Vernon rushed at Harry with his fist raised. Harry put up his arms to block the punch, but as Vernon's fist came crashing down, it broke through Harry's defences and sent him flying into the kitchen cupboard.

"What the hell?!" Harry exclaimed out loud.

 _~Harry! Are you alright?!~_ Sabrina asked.

 _~I'm fine. What about you?~_ Harry asked back.

 _~Same. How did he get so strong though? He's still the same as before!~_ Sabrina exclaimed.

Harry then saw a vial on the table with some orange liquid inside. The package that the Dursleys received was a vial of Strength Potion!

'Strength Potion?! Why would Vernon take something to do with magic?' Harry pondered.

Harry was broken from his thoughts by Vernon rushing into the kitchen and grabbing Harry by the collar, throwing him into the lounge.

"Surprised that I would take one of your freaky potions?! I'd take anything to beat the freakishness out of you! Dudley! Come and give your old man a hand!" Vernon answered Harry's unsaid question.

Dudley then walked into the room and grabbed Harry, punching him across the room into the wall where he fell to the floor in a heap. Harry struggled to get back to his feet as he then saw Petunia at the door to the hallway, grinning inanely at seeing him getting beaten up.

 _~You've got to use their new strength against them, Harry! Hurry!~_ Sabrina exclaimed, getting increasingly worried about Harry's health.

When Vernon and Dudley closed in on Harry this time, he just managed to roll out of the way of their punches. As he looked behind him, he saw them stumble forward, nearly falling into the couch. That was it! They may be stronger, but the extra pounds on them could be used against them as their momentum would carry them forward. If he could just get them into a good position...

Harry then looked back at the dining table and got an idea. It didn't seem as though their intelligence had improved, so they would probably try to go either side of him. If he could get them to do that and dodge them, they might just knock each other out for him.

Hoping for the best, Harry went behind the table and, sure enough, Vernon and Dudley saw him and walked up to the table, grinning as they split off. They thought that they were so clever, yet they had already sealed their fate.

As the two Dursleys stalked up to him, Harry got himself ready to execute his plan. Once they reached him, they raised their fists and went to strike. Harry then dived back, leaving them to punch through the air. Thanks to their weight and momentum, the strength of their punches carried them forward until their fists collided with the other's face, stunning them both and causing them immense pain.

Harry knew that one more punch would probably knock them out. As they were still stunned, he ran back towards the couch and went behind the coffee table, waiting for the Dursleys to come back to their senses. Once they did, they were blinded by their anger and rushed at him. Once again, they went either side of him. Knowing that he had them, he jumped back onto the couch, as their punches flew through the air and hit the other in the stomach, taking the wind out of them as they crumpled to the ground.

With two swift kicks to the face, Harry knocked the two Dursleys to the ground unconscious. He had done it. He turned around and saw the shocked look on Petunia's face as she realised that even with the enhanced strength, it still hadn't been enough. He then grinned as he tied Vernon and Dudley up with magic and hung them from the ceiling.

"Watch them and let me know when they wake up," Harry ordered Petunia, who then rushed to her husband and son's side, fearful of angering Harry.

Harry then walked into the kitchen and dumped the rest of the Strength Potion down the sink, washing it away before destroying the vial and any remaining drops of potion. It took a while for the two Dursleys to wake up, giving Harry some time to do some of the summer homework. When Petunia finally called him down, he found it oddly amusing to see Vernon and Dudley struggling to try and break free of their binds. What they didn't realise was that the potion had already lost its effect a while ago.

"You won't get out of those ropes until I untie them. The potion has already left your system," Harry said.

"Untie me you little bastard! I'll make you pay for this after they expel you! Then what will you do when you can't use your freakishness on us?!" Vernon bellowed.

"How do you know about the rule on underage sorcery?" Harry asked out of curiosity.

"The man who delivered the potion told us. You'll be expelled for this! Then we can have our revenge!" Vernon answered, laughing manically, clearly thinking that he had won.

"I'm afraid that I won't be expelled," Harry said with a smirk.

"What?!" Petunia exclaimed.

"You see, I'm already an emancipated wizard, so I'm exempt from that law. As for use around muggles, well...you already know about magic, so I don't have to worry about that either," Harry explained, grinning as he saw Vernon and Dudley pale.

"I don't understand...You're still-!" Petunia tried to say before being interrupted by Harry.

"11-years-old? Yes. However, I am an exception. As the Heir of the Ancient and Most Noble Houses of Potter and Peverell, I was able to claim my title as Lord Potter-Peverell, freeing me from such hindrances. So, I suggest that you stay out of my way from the rest of the summer unless you want to see what revenge really is," Harry threatened.

The Dursleys paled considerably as they realised that Harry could've done much worse to them. They considered themselves lucky that they hadn't truly angered him yet. He then realised Vernon and Dudley from their bindings, letting them land on the floor with a loud thud, before heading upstairs to continue his homework.

As Harry was doing the last part of one piece of homework, he found his mind wandering back to seeing Ginny at King's Cross Station and what he had done. Why did he feel so protective of her? He tried to convince himself that it was just because he didn't want her mother and brother to hurt her, yet he still felt as though there was a missing reason behind it. He didn't feel this protective of Hermione, and she was the one who he actually hung around with him. It didn't make any sense to him. He only hoped that he could figure out the enigma that was Ginny Weasley this year as he didn't know how much more confusion he could take.


	18. Chapter 18: To The Burrow

Chapter 18: To the Burrow

Harry was not having a very good summer. While the Dursleys stayed out of his way, he could tell that they were still angry behind their fearful exterior. It wouldn't take much for Vernon to explode. Unfortunately for Harry, that explosion didn't take long to occur.

A couple of weeks into the summer, a house-elf named Dobby appeared to Harry and warned him not to go back to Hogwarts as something bad was going to happen this year. Dobby had stolen letters from Ron and Hermione, thinking that Harry wouldn't go back if he thought that his friends didn't care about him. Fortunately, Hedwig delivered Ginny's letters to Harry personally, so he always got hers.

When Harry tried to get the letters off of Dobby, telling him that he would still go to Hogwarts whether he liked it or not, Dobby ran downstairs and ruined Vernon's meeting with the Masons, who were over to discuss a promotion for him, making it seem as though Harry was to blame. Before he could berate Dobby, the elf vanished.

Once the Masons left, Vernon went crazy, shouting and cursing Harry's name. He then fitted bars to Harry's bedroom window and placed multiple locks on his door so that he couldn't go back to Hogwarts. Somehow, Vernon had forgot that Harry could do magic in his rage. Harry decided to let Vernon have his little moment, however small it was, but he would show how futile it was after a week when he went to get his school supplies.

Unfortunately, Harry had been unable to get the Philosopher's Stone back to Nicholas Flamel. He soon found out, when he did some research, that Flamel and his wife had left their home and died together without the magic of the stone to keep them alive. Harry would need to make a new plan to figure out how to hide the stone away from Dumbledore.

A few days later, Harry was woken up one night by a roaring noise outside of his window. He opened his window and saw a car flying in the air. When he looked at the occupants inside, he was shocked.

"Ron? Fred? George? What are you all doing here?" Harry asked.

"Rescuing you, of course. Now go get your trunk and Hedwig and get in," Ron answered.

Harry went to do just that. As he was getting his stuff, however, he wondered how the Weasleys would know that he needed rescuing. Then it hit him.

 _~Dumbledore sent that package. He expected Vernon to beat me up and thought that the Weasleys 'saving' me would make me trust them and him. It all makes sense now~_ Harry hissed.

 _~So, what are you going to do?~_ Sabrina enquired.

 _~I'll go along for the ride to keep up appearances, of course. Though it will be funny when they realise that Vernon failed~_ Harry answered with a smirk.

 _~And you'll get to see Ginny~_ Sabrina teased.

 _~That too~_ Harry said, not attempting to hide the smile at the thought of seeing his friend.

Harry got his things together and brought them to the window. He knew that he could just remove the bars himself, but he didn't want Ron to know about his emancipation yet as the boy would instantly tell Dumbledore. It wasn't time yet. He had a feeling that the Weasley brothers had come prepared, however, so he decided to have some fun at the Dursleys' expense.

"What about the bars?" Harry asked.

"Leave that to us. Stand back!" Ron replied, attaching a tow cable to one of the bars.

Harry watched as the Weasleys flew forward and pulled the bars off of their hinges, along with some of the wall. They then flew back up to the window and opened the boot so that Harry could get his things in. He managed to get his trunk and Hedwig in just as he heard the booming voice of Vernon.

"Potter!" Vernon screamed as he rushed towards Harry's room.

Harry heard Vernon attempting to unlock the door, but the amount of locks proved to be a serious problem. That gave Harry enough time to climb into the car and for them to drive away just as Vernon finally opened the door and saw that Harry was already gone and that there was a gaping hole in the wall.

Harry looked back to see Vernon stamping the floor in anger and laughed. The Weasleys also joined in as they saw Vernon before Ron addressed Harry again.

"Happy birthday, Harry," Ron said.

Harry paused for a second and realised that it was actually the morning of the 31st July. With everything going on, he completely forgot about his own birthday. He guessed that going to the Weasleys for the rest of the summer wouldn't be too bad of a present. At least he was away from the Dursleys and most of the family weren't trying to steal from him or praying for his death.

Eventually, they all made it to the Weasley home, a rather strange looking building that seemed as though each layer had been piled onto the ones below without any thought about alignment, making the house seem wonky. The sun had just rose up as well, so the day was already off to a good start in Harry's opinion. It was much better than the cloudy, gloomy weather at Privet Drive all summer.

The twins landed the car just outside of the front of the house and then got out, with Harry and Ron following them. The Weasleys then led Harry inside, being very careful not to make any noise in case they woke their mother up.

Once inside, Harry took the place in. It looked homey in a way that Number 4 failed to look like. It seemed like a real family home. Also, you could tell that a magical family lived here as there were pots and pans washing themselves, needles knitting by themselves and so on.

"This is the Burrow. It's not much...but it's home," Ron said.

"I think that it's brilliant," Harry replied genuinely.

Just then, Mrs Weasley rushed into the kitchen, clearly in a bad mood. Harry felt bad for the twins and actually felt bad for Ron at that moment, though it would probably be the only time he would feel bad for the little thief.

"Where have you been?! Beds empty! No note! Car gone! You could have died! You could have been seen for crying out loud!" Mrs Weasley questioned angrily.

 _~It's good to know that she's got her priorities right. Being seen by muggles is certainly worse than death~_ Sabrina mocked.

"But we had to go, Mum. There were bars on his window!" Ron exclaimed.

"Well you best hope that you don't find bars on your window Ronald Weasley!" Mrs Weasley warned.

 _~Why is she putting on this show? She probably knew the plan to 'rescue' you, but why would she need to put on this show?~_ Sabrina wondered.

 _~Probably to sound like your average mother and to not act suspicious~_ Harry whispered in response.

"Harry, dear! It's so wonderful to see you again! Come on, have a spot of breakfast with us," Mrs Weasley exclaimed with a huge smile that really did not look comforting with the way she looked at him.

 _~Looks like you were right, but those eyes scream "creepy!"~_ Sabrina said.

Mrs Weasley then began to cook breakfast as Harry, Ron and the twins sat down and talked about the Weasley family life. After a few minutes, the food was ready and Mrs Weasley began to plate up and hand everyone a plate.

"Alright everyone, tuck in," Mrs Weasley said with a smile.

At that moment, someone raced downstairs and Harry looked over to see Ginny about to ask her mother something before she locked eyes with him. Her mouth hung open in shock and he grinned at her. He stood up and held his arms out before he could think about it, which seemed to make her realise that he was real as she ran towards him and hugged him.

As Ginny hugged him, Harry subtly scanned the room to see the reactions of the Weasleys. The twins just smiled with knowing looks in their eyes, but Ron and Mrs Weasley interested him most. They glared at Ginny, thinking that no-one was looking at them, and made moves to go and separate the two before they seemed to freeze up and look away as if nothing happened. Harry sighed in relief as he realised that his charm had worked and Ginny had been safe over the summer.

Harry then took the charm off, as he could protect Ginny himself, then they separated and sat down. She was on his left, while Ron was scowling on his right. Fortunately this time, Ron didn't try anything.

"How did you get here?!" Ginny asked in excitement.

"Ron and the twins drove a flying car to break me out of the Dursleys' house. They even left Vernon a little present," Harry replied, smirking as he thought about the hole in the wall.

"Awesome!" Ginny exclaimed.

"So, how's your summer been?" Harry asked.

"It's been alright. Just spent most of it down by the lake swimming. What about you?" Ginny replied.

"I got my homework done as the Dursleys stayed out of the way for most of the summer. Though, something really weird happened a few days ago," Harry responded.

Harry then noticed Ron's shocked face as he mentioned the Dursleys. Dumbledore was going to be angry when Ron told him that the Strength Potion hadn't worked.

"What happened?" Ginny asked.

"A house elf called Dobby appeared in my room. He told me not to go back to Hogwarts this year as something bad was apparently going to happen. He even stole all of letters from Ron and Hermione, hoping that I wouldn't return if no-one wrote to me," Harry explained.

"So that's why you never replied! That's why we came over to get you as we were worried about you after we sent so many letters. We were planning on breaking you out for a while, but we just had to plan how to get past Mum and Dad. Guess we didn't," Ron said.

"Yeah. No house elf is going to stop me though. So, are you excited to be going to Hogwarts, Ginny?" Harry asked.

"Yeah! I can't wait to start learning! It sounds great!" Ginny replied, "Plus it will be nice to be with a friend too."

Ginny blushed bright red as she said the last part and hung her head slightly. Sabrina giggled a little before talking to Harry.

 _~Aww! She really does have a crush on you~_ Sabrina teased.

Harry ignored Sabrina and was about to try and change the subject for Ginny, but Ron decided to butt into the conversation again at this point.

"What friend are you on about? And why are you blushing?" Ron asked.

"Uh-umm-I-err!" Ginny stuttered, stumbling over her words as she went an even darker shade of red.

"Oh wait! Harry's your friend, I forgot! She's been talking about you all summer, mate. It gets rather annoying after a while. She's got some sort of crush on you," Ron said.

Ginny started to sink into her seat as Ron started to talk about her crush on Harry. Harry, not happy with seeing her so embarrassed, glared at Ron, making the redhead back down.

"Yes, I'm her friend, Ron, so stop teasing her!" Harry warned.

Harry then helped Ginny to straighten up before everyone continued to eat their breakfast again. At this point, Percy came downstairs and greeted everyone before taking a seat and having his breakfast. Mr Weasley then came in and seemed rather impressed when he found out about what Ron and the twins had done, before Mrs Weasley glared at him that is.

Then, the Weasley family owl, Errol, flew in with the post, after crashing into the window. Percy collected the post and passed them along.

"Looks like we've got our Hogwarts letters. Even Harry's got one," Percy said.

"Dumbledore must know that you're here, Harry," Mr Weasley said.

 _~Yeah, I wonder how he knows?~_ Sabrina asked rhetorically, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Harry smiled on the outside, but was fuming inside. He knew that Dumbledore had planned this whole thing, but sending his letter to the Burrow only made him angry at how cocky Dumbledore was. Harry couldn't wait to show the old fool how wrong he was to think that he could control him so easily.

Ginny seemed to notice Harry's mood as she grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed it reassuringly. This time, he could feel her comfort physically and it worked even better than just spiritual comfort from letters. Once again, she had read him like a book. It made him wonder what sort of connection the two of them had. They instantly became friends after they first met, trusted each other over everyone else, she could read his emotions and he was overly protective of her. What was going on? He needed to look into this as soon as possible.

"Well, I guess that we best head off to Diagon Alley tomorrow and get your supplies. We might even get to see Gilderoy Lockhart in Flourish and Blotts!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed.

"Who's Gilderoy Lockhart?" Harry asked Ginny.

"He's written loads of books about all of the things that he's done. He's fought werewolves, vampires, you name it. He's even starting to rival you as a household name," Ginny answered with a teasing grin.

After everyone finished their breakfast, Mrs Weasley sent Ron and the twins to de-gnome the garden as their punishment, Mr Weasley went to his shed and Percy went to his room to read his books. This left Harry and Ginny as the only ones left in the kitchen with Mrs Weasley. He was about to ask Ginny what she wanted to do before Mrs Weasley addressed him.

"So, what are you going to do now, Harry?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"Well, I was thinking about spending some time with Ginny. Why?" Harry answered.

Harry then saw Mrs Weasley frown slightly. Clearly, she didn't expect that for his answer.

"I thought that you would have wanted to help or wait for Ron? He is your _best_ friend after all, isn't he?" Mrs Weasley enquired, putting emphasis on 'best'.

Harry realised what Mrs Weasley was trying to do when he caught a glimpse of Ginny's face falling. This must have been what she had been doing all throughout last year. He had to use all of his energy to calm down and not lash out at the vile woman for trying to use psychology to negatively influence her own daughter. Well, that wouldn't happen anymore.

"I don't want to disturb or distract him from his work. Besides, I want to catch up with Ginny as we can now talk face-to-face freely instead of just via letters. I'll leave you to whatever you have planned as well, Mrs Weasley. I won't trouble you, I promise. Let's go, Ginny," Harry explained as politely as he could.

Harry then walked out with Ginny following him, leaving a furious Mrs Weasley behind him.

"So, where's your room, Ginny?" Harry asked.

"I'll show you," Ginny replied, blushing slightly as she thought about her and Harry alone together.

Ginny then walked in front of Harry and led him up the stairs until they reached her room and went inside. Harry then placed a silencing charm and notice-me-not charm on the door to prevent anyone from disturbing them or listening in on their conversation. He then looked at Ginny and saw her shocked expression. It was then that he remembered that he hadn't told her about his emancipation or Lordships yet.

"How are you able to do that? I thought that we weren't allowed to use magic outside of school?" Ginny questioned.

"I'm an exception. Before the start of last year, I accepted the Lordships of two houses that I was heir to. Potter and Peverell. I was therefore emancipated and free of the underage magic law," Harry explained.

"That's awesome!" Ginny exclaimed in awe.

"Yes, it certainly is," Harry agreed.

There was a long silence between the two after that, with no-one knowing what to say. Harry then saw that Ginny had lowered her head to the ground again. Something was wrong.

"Ginny?" Harry asked.

"You stood up for me...again...I had this fear that you were going to favour Ron over me this time as he brought you here...but you didn't...You chose me again...even in front of Mum. Why?" Ginny replied, the uncertainty and self-doubt so evident in her voice.

Harry looked at the young girl who was slowly crumbling in front of him and understood one of the ways that they were connected. She may have appeared to be lively, bubbly and uncaring about her mother and brother's attempts to hurt her, but the truth was that they had hurt her deeply. They both had scars of abuse from the people who should care for them.

Something told Harry that those scars ran deeper than he thought. He didn't think that the psychological abuse had started just last year and wondered whether Ginny had experienced more before that. However, he would not push her to tell him everything now. She never pushed him and allowed him to confess at his own speed. He would offer her the same courtesy.

Harry then walked up to Ginny and pulled her into his arms, holding her close as she allowed the tears that she had been holding in to flow for the first time in years.

"Because _you_ are my best friend. You and Hermione will always come first as you are the only people who truly care about me as a person and the only ones that I care about. Your family has it completely wrong about who my best friend is and I will not allow her to continue to cry over fools like them," Harry explained firmly, offering no signs of deceit.

"How can I be your best friend? We've only ever talked before via letters. Hermione was with you all year, so shouldn't she be your best friend?" Ginny asked.

"While logic would suggest that, there's a slight problem with that. Hermione was there, yes, and helped me out quite a bit, but she doesn't understand me perfectly. Somehow, you do. How, I don't know, but you seem to be able to know exactly how I'm feeling and what to say. Before your letter on Halloween, it was probably the worst day of my life. I was in a dark place that day. Snape was more of a prick than usual, I completely ignored Hermione for most of the day, and I was slowly losing control of myself. Then your letter came and it was exactly what I needed to hear. You managed to calm me down, which only Sabrina had ever been able to do before. Even she took a while though. That is why you're my best friend, Ginny. Don't ever doubt that again," Harry explained.

Ginny finally stopped crying and nodded into Harry's chest, nuzzling in slightly as he continued to hold her until she composed herself again.

"Thank you, Harry. That means a lot. Speaking of Sabrina, can I see her now? I've been waiting for so long since you first told me about her," Ginny finally asked.

 _~You can come out now, Sabrina~_ Harry said after nodding to Ginny.

At this, Sabrina poked her head out of Harry's collar and looked at Ginny, trying to smile as well as a snake could.

"I've never seen a snake before. She's beautiful," Ginny said in awe.

Sabrina then looked at Harry and he already knew what she was going to say.

 _~I like her~_ Sabrina said teasingly.

 _~Because she called you beautiful?~_ Harry enquired, raising an eyebrow.

 _~Of course. Plus, I can see that she really cares for you~_ Sabrina replied.

 _~I'm so glad that you'll let me stay friends with her~_ Harry said sarcastically.

 _~Now, now. Don't go getting sarcastic with me. I'm just trying to tell you to keep her close~_ Sabrina said.

 _~I will~_ Harry responded firmly.

Harry then turned to look at Ginny and saw her looking at him in awe.

"I knew that you could speak Parseltongue, but I didn't expect it to sound like that. We've always been told that it was dark and that it sounded creepy. But when you spoke, it sounded almost soothing," Ginny said.

"I've always thought that too. I usually feel rather soothed when me or Sabrina are speaking in a good mood, in a playful manner, or if we're being complimentary," Harry explained.

Harry thought for a moment, wondering why Ginny seemed to feel positive from him speaking Parseltongue, while everyone else who heard him either felt afraid, like in the boys' cases, or had no emotional reaction, like in Hermione's case. After a few seconds of thought, he decided to test this out.

"I'm going to speak to you in Parseltongue. Let me know how you feel afterwards, alright?" Harry explained.

"Ok, Harry," Ginny agreed.

Harry took a deep breath and spoke before he really had time to think over his words, surprising himself at what he said.

 _~You are very pretty, Ginny~_ Harry hissed.

Subconsciously, Harry's voice took on a much smoother tone as he said those words, letting the hissing sounds drag out longer for effect. It seemed to have an obvious effect on Ginny as she shivered in delight slightly as she listened to his hissing, somehow knowing that he had said something really nice about her.

"So...how did you feel?" Harry asked.

"It felt...really nice... What did you say to me?" Ginny said, sighing deeply as she tried to compose herself.

"I said that you're very pretty," Harry said bluntly, shocking himself at admitting it.

Ginny blushed furiously and looked away from Harry as she processed what he had just said. They stayed in an awkward silence for a while, until Ginny looked back at Harry again with a curious expression on her face.

"Harry? Do you know why my mum and Ron seemed to be acting strange over the summer?" Ginny asked.

"What do you mean?" Harry responded.

"Well, it just seemed odd that they never confronted me about us being friends when they had tried to separate us previously. Plus, whenever they'd come to my room, they'd look like they were going to say something, then stop and leave as if nothing happened," Ginny explained.

"Ah...well..." Harry tried to answer, knowing that Ginny had figured out that he had done something.

"What did you do, Harry?" Ginny asked, getting more frustrated as she knew that he had done something.

"I couldn't risk them hurting you because of me, so I placed a modified notice-me-not charm on you which would only come into effect when your family were going to hurt you either physically or mentally. I took it off today since I'm here now and they won't do anything in front of me," Harry explained.

"You didn't need to do that! I could've taken care of myself!" Ginny said angrily.

"Could you have?" Harry retorted.

"W-what?" Ginny asked, stunned at Harry questioning her.

"Could you have really taken care of yourself when they would've been more willing to hurt you than ever before? How many times did they come in and go back out before they could say anything, Ginny? Every time that happened, they would've hurt you. They would've tried to manipulate you and destroy your self-esteem! When we hugged this morning, before I took the charm off, they were about to try and separate us, but the charm stopped them. Your mother would've probably taken you away and done lord-knows-what to you had my charm not obliterated the thought from her mind! Should I not have done that, Ginny? Should I not have tried to protect the one person who gave me hope in this world and believed in me when her own family tried to turn her against me?! Why?! Why should I have stood by and left you unprotected just because I wanted to be selfish and annoy your mother and Ron by showing that they failed?! Why should I have left you with no protection when I knew, from their expressions and surface thoughts on the platform, that they would do whatever they could to destroy you and beat the sanity out of you until you were nothing but a shell of your former self - someone that they could mould and manipulate to do whatever they wanted; making you nothing more than a slave?! I know what it's like to be treated like that, Ginny. I may have been able to pick myself up thanks to Sabrina, but the scars are still there. I will not allow that to happen to you," Harry said with more passion than he had ever spoken with before.

Ginny looked at Harry and saw the passion in his eyes. She knew through his letters how passionate he could be, but seeing that passion in person shuck her to the core. She didn't want to believe that her mother and brother would be so evil, but she knew that Harry was telling the truth. She briefly wondered how he could remain so calm around them, then she remembered breakfast and how he nearly lost it. It took a lot of willpower for him to stay calm, obviously.

Ginny also noticed a faint black aura begin to surround Harry as he spoke and got more angry. She knew that it wasn't aimed at her, but it still frightened her. It frightened her to see the side that he hid so well up close. She hoped to never be on the receiving end of this side of him as she knew that she wouldn't stand a chance. What she did know what that his speech showed that he truly cared about her, more than he probably knew, and it removed all of the doubts about their friendship from her mind.

Eventually, Harry started to calm down as he saw the frightened expression on Ginny's face and the black aura dissipated.

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I didn't mean to scare you," Harry apologised.

"No, I should be saying sorry to you. I had no idea what they were planning. I should be thanking you instead," Ginny replied.

"I wished that you didn't have to know. Whatever they have done in the past would've been nothing compared to what they would've done this time," Harry said.

Ginny was about to ask what Harry meant by that and nearly accused him of using Legilimency on her, but he seemed to know what she was going to say as he answered her unsaid question immediately.

"Before you ask, I didn't use Legilimency on you. I would never invade your privacy like that. We all wear our masks, Ginny. I don't need to use Legilimency to see through yours," Harry explained.

"Masks? What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"We all wear a mask to hide our true selves. Dumbledore wears the mask of the grandfatherly Leader of Light, your mother wears the mask of a kind, loving housewife and mother, your brother wears the mask of a loyal best friend...then there's us..." Harry explained.

"Us?" Ginny enquired, wondering where Harry was going with this.

"As you know, I wear the mask of a magically-talented, noble Gryffindor and Golden Boy to Dumbledore. As for you, you wear the mask of the perfect little girl. The perfect daughter who never moans, never whines, never pranks, never talks back and never cries. You know that I'm right, don't you?" Harry explained.

Ginny looked at Harry flabbergasted. She wanted to deny it, wanted to say that she was strong, but she couldn't force herself to lie to him. She just collapsed to her knees and put her head in her legs.

Harry then knelt down and tilted Ginny's head up so that they were staring into each other's eyes. He hoped that she could see only positive things in his eyes as he didn't want to see her cry again. He took a hold of her shoulders and rubbed them to try and comfort her.

"We've both been hurt by those we call family. I want to help you, but I don't want to push you. Just like you respected my wishes, I shall respect yours. Whenever you feel ready, I will be there to listen, just as you listened to me. Just don't let the pain eat you up. You don't want to end up like me," Harry explained.

Harry then brought his hand up to Ginny's face and stroked her cheek absent-mindedly as she slowly composed herself again, gently nuzzling into his hand for the slightest second.

"Now then, I think that it's time that you showed me around the place, yes?" Harry said, helping Ginny to her feet as he regained his senses and tried to liven the mood a bit.

Ginny then took Harry on a tour of the Burrow and the lake, showing him some of her favourite spots. Eventually, they sat down looking at the sun rays glistening on the water. However, Ginny kept getting distracted and often found herself staring at Harry. She just couldn't help but look at him in awe as she had discovered even more about the boy that seemed to have taken a firm place in her heart.

The raw power that poured off of Harry both frightened Ginny and intoxicated her. The way in which he could see through masks so easily, even hers when they had only just started to talk face-to-face, was incredible. No-one in her family had been able to see through her mask, even when she found it crumbling from time to time when Ron would tease or insult her, or when the memories of her mother and Ron hurting her would come to the forefront of her mind.

The fact that Harry understood Ginny so well made her feel really happy too. It should scare her, really, yet she didn't feel like it was a bad thing at all. It actually made her feel at peace for the first time in her life as she now had someone who understood her and who she could relate to. After everything that Ron and her mother had said, Harry still wanted to be her friend and chose her over them, defying their hurtful words by merely existing.

However, as good as he may be, there was a hidden darkness inside of Harry created by the wrong-doings of those who should've cared for him and those he should be able to trust. The fact that he was still fighting to keep that side of himself locked away was a testament to his character and willpower. She knew that he couldn't be classed as a dark wizard, as so many mindless sheep would class him as. No, he had both light and dark inside of him. He was a true grey wizard, willing to do anything to achieve his goals and keep the balance in the world.

Ginny promised herself, then and there, that she would strive to follow Harry's example to become the best that she could be. She would prove to him and to everyone else that she could protect herself and she would show him that she was worthy to help him to correct the wrongs in the world and restore peace to it.


	19. Chapter 19: To Diagon Alley

Chapter 19: To Diagon Alley

The next morning, Harry woke up in his bed in Ron's room. While he was used to the redhead's snoring at Hogwarts, it seemed to be more pronounced when it was just him and Ron, meaning that he didn't have the best night's sleep. Once he got ready, he went downstairs to cook some breakfast and found that Ginny was heading downstairs at the same time.

"Morning, Harry," Ginny said brightly.

"Morning, Ginny," Harry replied with a smile.

"How did you sleep with Mr Loudmouth?" Ginny asked.

"I wish that I was back at Hogwarts. At least then I would be further away from him and he wouldn't keep me awake," Harry responded casually.

"Do you miss Hogwarts?" Ginny asked with some sense of hesitancy to her voice.

"A little. Though, I think that I can survive Ron's snoring as you're here," Harry answered.

"I'm glad," Ginny said, blushing slightly.

"Come on, let's get something to eat," Harry said.

The two went downstairs to the kitchen and Harry set about making them some toast. He then buttered the toast and gave Ginny two slices and had two himself. They were onto their second helpings by the time anyone else woke up and came down. Everyone was rather shocked when they saw that the two had already eaten.

"Sorry, everyone. Me and Ginny woke up early, so I made us some toast. I hope that you don't mind," Harry said, putting on the 'good boy' act.

"You made breakfast?" Mr Weasley asked.

"I had to cook some times for my relatives, so it was no problem," Harry answered with a hint of anger as he spoke.

Nobody said anything for a while after this until Mrs Weasley asked what everyone wanted and got breakfast for the rest of the family. After multiple helpings for each of the late Weasleys, it was finally time to go to Diagon Alley. Mrs Weasley led her children and Harry to the fireplace and grabbed a pot hanging on a nail in the wall.

"Ok now, Harry can go first," Mrs Weasley said, gesturing the pot to Harry.

"But Harry's never travelled by Floo powder before!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Alright. Ron, you go first so that Harry can see how it's done," Mrs Weasley said.

Ron then took some powder from the pot and walked into the fireplace. He then held his hand ready to throw the powder down before speaking.

"Diagon Alley!" Ron shouted.

Ron then threw the powder down and he was swallowed up by green flames. Harry assumed that this was an effect of the Floo powder. He then took some powder from the pot and walked into the fireplace next.

"Now don't forget to speak very, very clearly," Mrs Weasley warned.

As Harry was about the speak, some of the residual powder from Ron travelling went up his nose and made him mess up as he said the two words in one go.

"Diagonalley!" Harry shouted as he coughed and spluttered.

Harry then let the powder go just before he sneezed and was swallowed by the green flames. Harry seemed to travel down a long slide before finally coming out somewhere that he didn't recognise. The room was dark and dull, with many strange items dotted around the place. Looking around more, he noticed that there were windows that looked out onto a dark and misty alleyway. So, he was in a shop, but it didn't seem like one in Diagon Alley. He soon came to the realisation that he was likely in Knockturn Alley.

Harry made his way out of the shop and saw many shady people hanging around in the shadows. Now, if only he could see a way into Diagon Alley...Just as he was about to turn and go the opposite direction to these people, someone came up and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around to face them.

"Not lost, are you my dear?" said a croaky, wizened woman.

"No, I'm fine," Harry said.

"Come with us. We'll help you find your way back," the woman said with a cocked grin as those shady characters began to walk towards them.

"You don't even know where I'm going. Now, I'd suggest that you let go," Harry said forcefully.

Harry was about to reach for his wand in case he was attacked until someone appeared and made the shady characters cower away.

"'Arry?! Wha' do you think you're doing' down 'ere?! Come on!" came the booming voice of Hagrid.

Harry grinned as he walked up to greet Hagrid. The two then walked out of Knockturn Alley and made their way to Diagon Alley.

"You need to be more careful, 'Arry. Sculkin' around Knockturn Alley...People will think you're up to no good!" Hagrid warned.

"I was lost. The Floo didn't-Hang on...what were you doing in Knockturn Alley?" Harry asked out of curiosity.

"Oh! I was, er, gettin' Flesh-Eatin' Slug repellen'. They're eatin' all the school's crops," Hagrid replied.

Before Harry could ask anything else, a speeding red bullet hit him in the chest and nearly floored him if he hadn't planted his feet flat on the ground. When he looked down, he saw Ginny hugging him tightly. He assumed that she must've been worried when he didn't appear with everyone else and went looking for him.

"Don't you dare do that again! I was looking everywhere for you!" Ginny exclaimed, confirming Harry's assumption.

"I'm sorry. I'm here now though. I'm alright," Harry said, trying to calm Ginny down by stroking her hair.

"You'll be alrigh' now, 'Arry?" Hagrid asked.

Harry nodded and let Hagrid go on his way. Harry continued to stroke Ginny's hair for a while until she finally calmed down, realised what was happening, then let go of him before blushing madly. Seeing her blushing, he decided to ask about the others to try and help her out.

"So, where's everyone else?" Harry asked.

"Oh! They went to Flourish and Blotts. Come on. We best get going before they wonder where we are and send a search party or something," Ginny replied, finally calming down fully and smiling.

As the two made their way to Flourish and Blotts, they bumped into someone while speaking to each other without looking where they were going. Before they were about to apologise, they looked at who it was and Harry recognised the person immediately.

"Hermione?! It's you! How are you?" Harry asked with a smile at seeing his friend.

"Harry! It's so good to see you! And I've been great! How about you?" Hermione answered cheerfully.

"It's been an...interesting summer, to say the least," Harry replied.

Hermione then looked over to see Ginny, who had raised her eyebrows at the exchange between the two friends.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Where are my manners? I'm Hermione Granger. And you must be _the_ Ginny Weasley that I've heard so much about," Hermione said, smirking at Harry as she said that last part.

"Only good things, I hope," Ginny said.

"Of course! You are his best friend after all," Hermione said.

Ginny smiled at this and Harry hoped that hearing that from Hermione would help Ginny forget about her family's behaviour. The trio then headed off to Flourish and Blotts to regroup with the Weasleys. As they got closer, they saw the signs to say that Gilderoy Lockhart was inside.

"Gilderoy Lockhart's here?! Wow!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Don't tell me that you're enamoured with this guy too, Hermione," Harry whined.

"Don't be like that, Harry. Everyone's just in awe of what he's done," Hermione replied with an adoring sigh.

"I'll be in awe too...if he's actually done all of those things," Harry said.

"Harry?!" Hermione exclaimed in shock.

"Think about it, Hermione. Not many people in magical society tell the truth anymore. Just look at the books about me. I'm sorry, but a normal wizard fighting werewolves, vampires and other monsters and somehow coming away without a single scratch to show for it? Something's not right here. He looks too...okay considering what he must have seen on his adventures," Harry explained.

"You sound almost jealous, Harry. Accusing him of lying and all," Hermione said, trying to gauge his reaction.

"I'm not. I don't want my fame and I especially wouldn't want to fight werewolves or vampires. I'm nowhere near strong enough to face one anyway. How about this; I'll go over all of the books that he wrote and if there's no discrepancies, then I'll take back what I said. Deal?" Harry said, holding out his hand.

"Deal," Hermione replied, shaking Harry's hand.

"Well, now that you two are finished, shall we head inside and find out whether my mother's drooling yet?" Ginny asked with a grin.

The trio entered the bookstore and immediately saw a crowd of people trying their hardest to get in front of each other to see Lockhart. They managed to just make out the red hair of the Weasleys in the middle of the crowd and squeezed through to get to them.

"Oh Harry! You're alright! We were worried sick!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed after turning to see what was going on as she felt some people part behind her.

"I'm alright, Mrs Weasley. No harm done," Harry said with a fake smile.

Unfortunately for Harry, Lockhart heard Mrs Weasley say his name and immediately looked over to see him.

"It can't be Harry Potter, can it?" Lockhart asked aloud with a calculating look on his face that Harry and Ginny picked up on.

"Harry Potter!" came the voice of a man holding a camera next to them.

The man, clearly a reporter, then grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him along, literally throwing him towards Lockhart in his excitement.

"Smile, Harry. Together, you and I might even make the front page of the Prophet," Lockhart said with a cheesy smile.

Before Harry could react, the reporter took a picture and Lockhart began to address the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what a moment this is. When young Harry here came to buy his copy of 'Magical Me', he was expecting to pay the full price. However, he would instead be leaving with my entire collected works...free of charge," Lockhart announced, giving Harry a copy of all of his books.

Still in shock, Harry didn't really pay attention to the crowd now clapping at Lockhart's apparent generosity, but instead searched out Ginny who gave him a sympathetic look as she knew that he didn't want the publicity. Harry quickly got away from Lockhart and handed the books to Mrs Weasley, who said that she would get them signed. Harry, Ginny, Hermione and now Ron then tried to leave together before they were stopped by someone.

"I bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" Draco Malfoy said with a sneer.

"You clearly can't read body language then, can you, Malfoy?" Harry replied.

"Famous Harry Potter...can't even go to a book shop without making the front page!" Malfoy snarled, not listening to Harry's words.

"Shut it! He didn't want all of that attention! If you knew Harry, then you'd understand that! So I'd suggest that you keep your snide remarks to yourself so that we don't have to listen to your drivel!" Ginny responded angrily.

"Oh look, Potter...You've got yourself a girlfriend," Malfoy said, trying to hide his clear discomfort at Ginny's boldness.

"You seem uncomfortable after my 'girlfriend' shouted at you, Draco. What's wrong? Scared?" Harry replied, enjoying the expression on Malfoy's face.

Before Malfoy could say anymore, a metallic snake head hit him on the shoulder. The snake head was on the end of the cane which was being held by a tall, blond-haired man with clear aristocratic features.

"Now, now, Draco play nicely. Harry Potter...Lucius Malfoy," Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, said, offering a hand to Harry in greeting.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Harry said politely, shaking Lucius' hand.

"Forgive me..." Lucius said before using his cane to part Harry's hair to reveal his scar, "Your scar is legendary...as, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you."

"Who? Voldemort? He killed my parents. He's not legendary. He's nothing more than a murderer who paid the ultimate price for his choices in life. I hope that he rots in Hell for the lives that he destroyed in his foolish crusade for power," Harry responded with hate laced in his voice.

Harry and Lucius stared at each other for a moment, neither willing to break eye contact as they gauged each other for any sign of discomfort. Harry soon found it in Lucius as he saw the man's surface thoughts. He didn't like Harry's choice of words in describing his old master and the hate in Harry's voice disturbed him as he didn't expect Harry to respond in such a way.

"You must be very brave to mention his name and say such things...or very foolish," Lucius said, finally looking away from Harry's eyes.

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Hermione said.

"Ah, you must be Miss Granger. Yes, Draco's told me all about you...and your parents. Muggles, aren't they?" Lucius asked almost condescendingly.

"You make it sound as though it's a problem, sir. She can still perform magic, can she not?" Harry enquired, not liking Lucius' words at all.

"I apologise for making you think that. I have no problem whatsoever. Now, let's see here...Red hair...tattered second-hand books...You two must be Weasleys, yes?" Lucius said, looking over Ginny and Ron and avoiding Harry's eyes.

As he said this, Lucius took one of Ginny's books out of the cauldron Mrs Weasley gave her and looked it over before placing it back in. Harry watched Lucius place the book back in and could've sworn that it looked bigger than before. However, before he could say anything, Mr Weasley appeared behind them to draw Lucius' attention.

"Come on children. Time to go," Mr Weasley said, not seeing Lucius at first.

"Well, well, well...Weasley Senior," Lucius sneered.

"Lucius," Mr Weasley greeted distastefully.

"How many more raids have you had to do lately, Arthur? I do hope that the Ministry is paying you well for them. After all, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizards if they're not even paying you right for it?" Lucius enquired.

"We have a very different opinion on what it means to be a disgrace to the name of wizards, Malfoy," Mr Weasley replied with a glare.

As Mr Weasley said that, Harry wondered how he would take his wife, youngest son and the great Leader of Light being disgraces too. Something told Harry that Mr Weasley wouldn't take it very well.

"Indeed...Associating with muggles..." Lucius said under his breath, "Come along now, Draco. I shall see you at work then, Arthur."

Lucius then turned and left the bookstore. Draco turned back to Harry and fixed him with the same look that his father gave to Mr Weasley.

"See you at school. Be careful little Weasel. Hogwarts isn't as safe as they say," Draco sneered, turning his attention onto Ginny at the end.

Before he was about to leave, Harry grabbed Draco's arm and turned the blond to face him.

"I don't take kindly to threats against my friends, Malfoy. I'd suggest that you be careful instead. Daddy wouldn't want his baby boy to be in the Hospital Wing because he lost an Honour Duel, would he?" Harry warned.

Draco paled as Harry mentioned an Honour Duel as he didn't expect Harry to know something like that. He almost ran out of the bookstore once Harry let him go, much to Ron's amusement.

"Did you see Malfoy's face? Priceless! What did you say to him, Harry?" Ron asked.

"I warned him about what would happen if he continued to threaten my friends," Harry answered coldly.

"It's alright, Harry. I can look after myself. Malfoy doesn't scare me," Ginny said.

Ginny then put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Seeing that she wasn't fazed by Malfoy, Harry calmed down and smiled at her before exiting the bookstore with everyone else following him. Ron then got the Weasleys to go into Quality Quidditch Supplies as he wanted to look at the new brooms. At this time, Harry, Ginny and Hermione said that they wanted to look at the animals in the Magical Menagerie as Hermione was interested in getting a cat. Not thinking much of it, the Weasleys, including Mrs Weasley, let them go.

While Hermione went to look at the animals, however, Harry took Ginny to Ollivander's Wand Shop.

"Why are we going to Ollivander's, Harry?" Ginny asked sceptically.

"You need a wand, right? That's why," Harry replied.

"But we can't afford a new wand, Harry! That's why I'm getting my grandmother's wand, remember?" Ginny said, reminding Harry of a previous letter correspondence.

"Yes, I know. That's why I'm getting you one for an early birthday present," Harry said with a grin.

"You're what?! You are not spending your money on me, Harry Potter!" Ginny shouted.

"If I can't spend my money on my best friend, then who can I spend it on? I don't spend any on myself apart from school supplies, so there's still loads of money in my account. I can get you a wand with no problems," Harry explained.

"But Harry-!" Ginny tried to say before getting cut off.

"But nothing! I'm buying you a present so that you can actually perform spells correctly. 'The wand chooses the wizard'. You won't be able to reach your potential if you have a wand that isn't made for you. Now stop arguing and accept that I'm getting this for you," Harry explained.

"Alright..." Ginny sighed in defeat.

Harry grinned in success and led Ginny into Ollivander's where the man himself was waiting with a knowing smile on his face.

"Ah, the youngest Weasley. I didn't expect to see you in my shop today. I assume that Mr Potter is the reason for this, yes?" Ollivander said.

"Yes, sir. Harry's getting my wand as an early birthday present," Ginny replied.

"How nice of you, Mr Potter. Now then, let's see what we have here..." Ollivander said before going off to find some wands for Ginny to try.

Ginny tried many wands, but none felt right to her, nor did they do anything right.

"You really are a tricky customer, Miss Weasley, just like Mr Potter...I wonder..." Ollivander commented before going off again.

Ollivander then came back with a single wand box. He opened the box and cautiously took the wand out and held it out to Ginny. As soon as she took the wand off of Ollivander, the wand began to glow gold and engulf her in a golden light. As this was happening, Harry noticed a glow on his own person and pulled out his Hazel wand, which had begun to glow at the same time as Ginny's wand. When the glow subsided, both were in shock at what had happened, but for different reasons.

"Wow! That's was intense!" Ginny said in awe.

"Very curious indeed..." Ollivander commented.

"What's curious, sir?" Ginny asked.

"Well, Miss Weasley, that wand in your hand is a very special wand. 10 inches, made from Hazel wood and a dual-core of basilisk venom and a shadow phoenix feather. A combination that you might know of, Mr Potter," Ollivander explained.

"Ginny's wand...is my Hazel wand's twin, isn't it?" Harry responded.

"Yes. You see, the shadow phoenix gave two feathers and was able to telepathically communicate with me, asking for two wands to be made. These two wands would go to two very special magical beings that would be prophesised to change the Wizarding World. Something that I didn't tell you, Mr Potter, was that the basilisk venom entered your wand's core by what appeared to be an accident at first. My owl knocked a vial of the venom onto the feather, dousing it in the venom to create the dual-core. I didn't notice until I placed it inside the wood and it began to glow black and green, the colours of a shadow phoenix feather core and a basilisk venom core. My same owl did the same thing to another vial of venom from the same basilisk near the second feather just before I made the second wand, producing the same dual-core. After the second time, I stopped thinking that it was truly an accident and that the dual-cores were meant to occur by fate. You both also share the same wood; Hazel, meaning that you both have a deep connection with your emotions," Ollivander explained.

"Wow!" Ginny said, still in awe over the information.

"Can I ask one question? Have you found that you have been able to guess the emotional state of each other rather well, even if the other shows no outward signs of said state?" Ollivander questioned.

"Now that you mention it, Ginny's the only person who has been able to calm me down or cheer me up whenever something's wrong. She even managed to do this when we were conversing via letters. But why is that important?" Harry replied sceptically.

"It's very important, Mr Potter. It means that there's a strong connection between the two of you. I can't say what that is, but I expect that you will find out soon. What I will say is that you two must stay together. That much is clear. Yes...we can expect very great things from you two," Ollivander explained.

Satisfied with his explanations, Harry paid Ollivander for Ginny's wand and the duo left the shop to find Hermione leaving the Magical Menagerie as well.

"Hey guys! I found the loveliest cat inside, but I don't have enough money yet. I'll have to ask my mum and dad to get him for me next year. What did you two do then?" Hermione said.

"I hope that you can get him then, Hermione. As for us, I got Ginny a new wand," Harry replied smugly.

"Really?! Show me, show me, show me!" Hermione asked excitedly.

Ginny held out her wand for Hermione and explained what Ollivander told her and Harry about the wand.

"Wow! So what does that make you two then?" Hermione asked.

"It doesn't change us, Hermione. It just explains some things that have been happening," Harry replied.

"Okay...Well, I guess that we best head back to Ginny's family before they wonder where we are. How are you going to tell them about Ginny's wand?" Hermione enquired.

"Oh no! Mum's going to go crazy!" Ginny said, panicked.

"Don't worry about it. If they ask, I'll just say that we went to see Ollivander as I had some questions about my wand. While there, I thought about getting you a birthday present and decided on a wand. That way, they'll focus on me rather than you and theorise about me instead," Harry explained.

"I hope that you're right about this," Ginny said.

"Trust me. It'll be fine," Harry said, patting Ginny's shoulder comfortingly.

The trio made their way back to Quality Quidditch Supplies and found the Weasleys still looking at the brooms as Ron tried to convince his parents to buy him the new Nimbus 2001. Harry saw Ron's face fall as his parents told him no. Harry knew that Mrs Weasley used the money that Dumbledore transferred from the Potter family vault to her private vault to get things for Ron in secret. He knew this as the goblins had sent him an account summary for the last 11 years over the summer, where he saw the transfers authorised by Dumbledore. He couldn't wait to see Ron's face when, for the first time ever, his mother couldn't get the greedy boy what he wanted.

The Weasleys came out soon after this and saw the trio, asking them how the Menagerie was. Hermione went into detail, as only she could, on all of the animals inside, specifically the cat that she had her eyes on. Eventually, Mrs Weasley looked over to Harry and Ginny with disguised suspicion and began to interrogate them.

"So, what did you two do while Hermione was looking at the cats? Did you see anything that you liked?" Mrs Weasley questioned.

"Not really. I'm still quite happy with just Hedwig and Sabrina," Harry replied, hoping that mentioning Sabrina would put Mrs Weasley's attention solely on him.

"Sabrina? Who's Sabrina?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"Did Ron not tell you? Sabrina's my familiar. He even saw her on the very first day at Hogwarts," Harry replied with a grin. Mrs Weasley wasn't going to be happy at Ron forgetting to tell her about Sabrina.

"Okay...So what is Sabrina? Another owl? A cat? A toad?" Mrs Weasley asked uncomfortably.

"Promise me that you won't judge her?" Harry pleaded, putting on a nervous mask in front of the Weasleys for effect.

"Of course we won't, Harry dear," Mrs Weasley said with a sickly sweet smile.

Harry then looked down into his shirt and saw Sabrina looking up at him.

 _~You ready to put on a show?~_ Harry asked, grinning as he saw the Weasleys gasp in shock at hearing Parseltongue.

 _~Of course, my Harry~_ Sabrina answered.

Sabrina then poked her head out of Harry's collar and stuck her tongue out. She could smell the fear coming from the Weasleys from seeing her.

"A s-s-snake?!" Mrs Weasley said, flinching.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" Harry asked, not breaking eye contact with Mrs Weasley.

Eventually, Mrs Weasley shuck her head and looked away, not able to hold Harry's gaze for long. Thankfully, his plan worked and she went silent. Ginny was in the clear...for now. Hermione then left the Weasleys to go back to her parents and said goodbye to Harry and Ginny. The Weasleys then finished up and took Harry back to the Burrow.

While everyone was going over their purchases, Harry and Ginny snuck off to her room so that they could discuss the day's events, though not before Harry silenced the room.

"I can't believe that you got Mum so good," Ginny said.

"Well, I can't take all of the credit," Harry said with a smirk.

 _~No, you can't. I was the main star after all~_ Sabrina chimed.

 _~And I would be nowhere without my little star~_ Harry replied in amusement.

 _~Watch who you're calling little, my Harry~_ Sabrina hissed.

Harry merely laughed at Sabrina's antics.

"So, what are we going to do about my wand? Mum's going to find out eventually when I tell her that I won't be needing my grandmother's wand," Ginny asked worriedly.

"I don't think that you should tell her that," Harry said after thinking for a moment.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"Think about it. I have two wands, but everyone only sees me using my Holly wand as that's the wand that Dumbledore expected me to get. My Hazel wand can be used as a backup if need be, or for dual-wielding in a duel to catch people off-guard. As you know, I do train with both wands in private. You can do exactly the same thing. Use your grandmother's wand in public, but use your Hazel wand in private to train with me and in practical exams where it matters," Harry explained.

"That's a good idea...Wait...You want me to train with you?" Ginny pondered.

"Of course. I want you to be the best that you can be. Plus, you're going to need to learn Occlumency now that I'm here. Dumbledore will go after you when he finds out that you're close to me. I'll lend you my book on Occlumency and Legilimency to get started," Harry explained.

"Okay, but what if Mum sees the book?" Ginny asked.

"She won't. I'll cast a charm on it that will disguise it as a normal textbook. She'll never find out," Harry answered with a reassuring smile.

"If you say so, Harry. I trust you," Ginny said with a smile.

The two just talked normally after this. Eventually, however, Harry remembered Lucius taking one of Ginny's books and was about to ask her to check it out. Unfortunately, Mrs Weasley chose the perfect time to call for Harry, sounding awfully panicked at not being able to find him. Not wanting to get Ginny into trouble, he left to go downstairs and see the rest of the Weasleys.

Once Harry was gone, Ginny began to take out all of her new schoolbooks and put them away. When she pulled the book that Lucius touched out, she heard something hit the bottom of her cauldron. She put the book away and looked into her cauldron to see a black book. It must have fallen out of the last book, though she didn't remember a black book being on the book list. It looked plain, like a diary. Maybe her parents just got her one. She had mentioned that she wanted a diary for Hogwarts last year after all.

Ginny took the book out and put it on her desk. Opening it up, she saw that it was blank. So it was a diary. She decided to write in what happened today as she waited for Harry but, to her surprise, the words seemed to get absorbed by the paper as soon as she finished writing. After her words disappeared, new words appeared in their place.

 _Hello Ginny,_

 _It does seem as though you had a busy day, doesn't it. You seemed to have fun though, yes?_

 _Oh, and by the way, my name is Tom Riddle, not Diary._

Shocked at the words, Ginny wondered what was going on. Had her parents got her a talking diary? Did they even exist? She began to write again.

 _Who are you? I've never heard of a talking diary before._

Ginny didn't wait long for a response.

 _I told you, I'm Tom Riddle. And I guess I am a talking diary, per say, but I wasn't manufactured to be._

This only confused Ginny more, but intrigued her enough to continue asking 'Tom Riddle' questions.

 _What do you mean?_

A response came back just as quickly as the last.

 _You see, this was a normal diary, but I was able to enchant it with my old memories. I guess that you could say I am like the Sorting Hat at Hogwarts. I am a memory implanted in this diary by the real Tom Riddle when he used to own this._

Seeing that this Tom Riddle knew about Hogwarts, Ginny decided to continue talking to him. He told her stories of what he used to do when he was at school. She even found out that he was at the top of his classes, just like Harry. In turn, she also told him about what had happened recently with Harry. This seemed to intrigue Tom as he began to ask her about Harry.

 _You seem to like this Harry a lot. You make him sound as though he's a really special boy._

Ginny blushed as she told Tom about Harry's defeat of Voldemort and how he was famous in the Wizarding World. She also said that he hated the fame though, for what it meant to him, and she couldn't blame him. She knew the real Harry though, and he knew that, and that was all that mattered.

 _Hmm...You do have a crush on him. I do hope that your feelings are reciprocated. Or do you not know?_

Ginny sighed as she truly didn't know whether Harry liked her how she liked him or not. Tom was very reassuring though, so she kept on talking to him until she heard Harry come back upstairs.

 _I guess that you best head off now, Ginny. I hope to hear from you again soon._

 _Love Tom_

Ginny blushed at Tom's farewell message and put the diary away. She just managed to hide it before Harry walked in and silenced the room again.

"So, what were you up to while I was gone?" Harry asked, sighing with relief as he sat down.

"Nothing much. I was just...reading my books. What about you? How was my wonderful family?" Ginny replied, not wanting to mention Tom as she didn't want to have to tell Harry what she had written in case he didn't reciprocate her feelings.

"Apart from the sickly sweetness of your mother and Ron's constant annoyance, it wasn't too bad. It's just annoying that they have to exist. Your dad's a nice man though. He seems to be a good person," Harry explained.

"Yeah. Dad's the best. He always made time for me, even when the other boys and Mum couldn't," Ginny said, reminiscing about the good parts of her childhood with her dad.

"I guess that your dad is where you and your older brothers get your good traits...apart from Ron and Percy, that is," Harry quipped.

"Yes, they took after Mum a bit too much. Especially the love of authority figures in regards to Percy," Ginny joked.

The two joked for a bit before discussing their training plan. Harry also got the book on Occlumency and Legilimency for Ginny so that she could start reading and learning over the summer. He told her that every few days, he would test her shields to see how far she was until he deemed her shields to be sufficient enough to protect her from the likes of Dumbledore. She agreed to this and promised that she would do her best for him.

Eventually, all of the talking made Harry forget about Lucius and Ginny's book and they had to go downstairs for dinner. They decided that they would start Ginny's Occlumency lessons tomorrow as Harry would have to test any barriers she already had up before she began to see what needed improving or adding in the first place. Yes, tomorrow was going to be a tiring day.


	20. Chapter 20: Learning Occlumency

Chapter 20: Learning Occlumency

The next morning, Harry and Ginny had breakfast before everyone again so that they could start on her Occlumency lesson before anyone could stop them. Thankfully, everyone else were heavy sleepers and wouldn't wake up until the duo were well into Ginny's lesson. Once they were in her room, Harry took her desk chair and sat on it while she sat on her bed.

"Right, Ginny, I need you to look into my eyes now. A key point of Legilimency is needing eye contact to work. Until you're proficient with Occlumency, do not look at any adult directly in the eyes in case they can use Legilimency like Dumbledore. Do you understand?" Harry explained in a more serious tone than normal.

"I understand, Harry" Ginny replied.

"What I'm going to do now is go into your mind. What I want you to do is try and block me as best you can with your natural shields so that we can see what needs to be worked on. I won't be holding back either. I will be trying to pull up a memory. If I make it through to a memory, then the practical session for today is over. However, we can stop right here if you aren't comfortable with this. The memory I may see may not be a good one depending on how close the memory gets to the forefront of your mind. So, do you trust me?" Harry explained.

"Yes, I trust you, Harry," Ginny responded with conviction.

Ginny then saw Harry's eyes shine and assumed that he had gotten inside her mind. However, she kept eye contact and tried to focus. Harry, on the other hand, was wandering around the vast plain of Ginny's mind trying to find her weaknesses. He could see that, like him, she had some natural barriers, but they were extremely brittle to the trained eye. Behind each barrier was darkness. Curiosity got the better of him as he broke through her barriers to see what was behind them. Once the memory started, he would end it straight away and just leave her mind. However, he was unprepared for what he was about to see as he was bombarded by visions of her childhood. None were pleasant.

The darkness held all of Ginny's worst memories that she had tried to forget about. The pain that Ron inflicted upon her and the insults that he sent her when they were alone. The psychological abuse and cruelty of her mother. They were all laid bare in front of Harry now. As much as he tried to get out of her mind, not wanting to invade her privacy anymore than he felt he had, he couldn't get out. It was almost like something wanted him to see the memories. One of the more prominent memories was one of Ginny and Ron when they were about five and six respectively.

 _"Girls can't play Quidditch! Only boys are good enough to ride brooms!" the younger Ron taunted._

 _"But I_ can _ride a broom! Just let me show you! Why are you being like this?!" the younger Ginny exclaimed in shock and sadness._

 _"You're lying, Ginny! Everyone knows that Mum won't let you ride a broom! You're too young and you're a girl! Go play with your dollies or something! I have better things to do than listen to you rambling about how you can be like us or Harry Potter!" Ron shouted._

 _"But I thought that you guys liked me playing with you..." Ginny sniffed as a tear began to leak out of her eye._

 _"No, we don't! We just babysit you because Dad can't! We don't want you! And get over Harry, why don't you?! He'll never marry a cry-baby like you! I'll make sure to tell him everything when we're best friends and he won't go anywhere near you!" Ron explained angrily._

 _"B-b-but Ron, why-?!" Ginny tried to say as she began to sob._

 _Ron interrupted Ginny with a smack to the face and knocked her to the ground. As she curled up into a ball and cried, he walked away with an evil smirk on his face._

 _Ginny couldn't tell on Ron to her parents. Her mother would hurt her and she knew that her mother and Ron would convince Daddy that she was lying. Then her mother would hurt her anyway. She was alone until Daddy got home and she would be Daddy's Little Princess again. They wouldn't hurt her then._

The next memory was Ginny with her mother about a couple of years later. Harry had a feeling that this was related to the 5-year-old Ginny's thoughts about telling on Ron.

 _"Ginny, stop pestering me!" Mrs Weasley ordered irritably._

 _"But Mummy, Ron keeps saying bad words! He won't let me play with him and-Oww!" Ginny screamed as Mrs Weasley slapped her, knocking her to the floor._

 _"Grow up, Ginevra! Your brother has more important things to worry about now, so stop pestering him! And don't spout such lies about him either! Ronald is a good boy and I won't have you saying such bad things about him. Do you understand me?!" Mrs Weasley ordered angrily._

 _"Yes, Mummy," Ginny replied quietly, choking back tears._

 _"Yes, what?" Mrs Weasley said, glaring at Ginny menacingly._

 _"Yes, Ma'am," Ginny responded as she began to sob._

 _"Don't show your father that you've been crying! Go clean your face before he gets home now! Go!" Mrs Weasley ordered._

 _"Yes, Ma'am." Ginny sobbed as she headed upstairs to the bathroom, "Someone...Please help me..."_

Harry finally exited Ginny's mind as he heard her scream in reality, not wishing to see anymore. When he finally adjusted back to reality, she saw her curled into a ball on her bed, not unlike her position in that first memory. Hesitantly, he made his way over to her and stroked her hair. This time, however, it didn't seem to calm her down at all.

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I didn't mean for you to have to relive those memories. I'm so sorry," Harry sighed in despair.

The despair for his best friend soon turned to anger. They did this to her. Ron and Mrs Weasley. They would pay.

"I'm going to kill them..." Harry said darkly as he turned to walk away, blinded by rage.

Harry was then stopped by a hand grabbing his arm. He turned around to see the saddened look on Ginny's face and met her pleading eyes. The pain in her eyes were like nothing he had ever seen before, not even in his own reflection when he was less than 7-years old. He knew then and there that he would do whatever she asked of him. He couldn't deny her of anything with those eyes.

"Don't go, Harry...Please stay..." Ginny requested, pausing in between due to her sobbing.

 _"Someone...Please help me..."_ the voice of the younger Ginny repeated in Harry's mind.

Harry sighed in defeat and sat on Ginny's bed next to her. He pulled her up as she rested her head on his shoulder as she cried and he stroked her hair to comfort her.

"They won't hurt you again. I swear it. I will make them pay for what they did," Harry swore.

Ginny merely wrapped her arms around Harry, almost as if she feared that he would leave if she loosened her grip on him for even a second.

"What do you want me to do, Ginny? I will do anything you ask," Harry asked.

"Just hold me..." Ginny requested.

Harry gave Ginny a sombre smile as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. The warm of his body and his heartbeat finally penetrated through the pain she was reliving and began to calm her down.

'Never again.' Harry thought, 'Never again will they or anyone else hurt her.'

A soft glow outlined the two. It was unnoticed by them, however, and only lasted a few seconds, but the seed was sown. This was only the beginning of what would happen to Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley and woe be to those who would attempt to get between them.

For the remainder of the day, it took every ounce of Harry's self-control not to lash out at Ron and Mrs Weasley and destroy them, but he knew of the consequences of such a rash decision. Everything would be for nothing and his plans to defeat the evil in the Wizarding World would fail. No, they had their usefulness...for now. Once that was gone, however, he would drop the justice hammer down on them and avenge the suffering that Ginny had to endure during her childhood.

Ginny had also begun reading up on Occlumency. While some parts she understood relatively well, she did need Harry to explain some things to her every now and again just to clarify the points being made in the book. This continued for about a week until she had read every chapter about Occlumency. She now had a basic understanding on the theory behind it, but now she would have to use that theory to actually protect her mind.

Ginny spent the next week focusing on strengthening her natural defences. Once that was done, she began to add to them, placing barriers around more sensitive memories and, as suggested, placing guards around said memories. These guards were a mixture of aggressive and strong animals, both magical and non-magical. The odd part about each animal was that they had the same eyes and body colour. Green eyes with a black body. It was almost as if she had taken every quality of Harry and put it into animal form. There was a lion representing his strength, a hyena and snake both representing his cunning, a phoenix representing his nobility, a dragon representing his raw power and a wolf representing his loyalty to his friends and his dominance as an alpha-like figure.

All throughout the week, Harry tested Ginny's mental defences to find any weakness. Before she put the animal guards up, Harry was still easily able to break through her defences, but he didn't delve into her memories this time. While he knew that the threat of getting to her memories again may prompt her to improve quicker, it could easily backfire and stunt her improvement if they affected her negatively again. Then again, he didn't have anyone testing his defences and he turned out fine, even if he was a natural at the mind arts. He could only hope that she was too.

Eventually, the constant destruction of her barriers made Ginny more determined than ever to get them right for the next intrusion, and the animal guards were added as insurance. As Harry hoped, the next time he entered her mind, the barriers did not let up easily. When they did, he was surprised, but impressed, to see the animals behind them. He fought them off still, then exited, commending her on her improvement.

Ginny remembered one piece of advice in the book just before the next test of her defences. Harry would never know what hit him. She was right. When Harry finally took her barriers down this time, after a very laborious few minutes, or maybe more, he was extremely impressed by what he saw. Instead of a single animal from each species like the last time, she had created a literal army of animals to protect her mind. He still tried to fight them, not wanting to just give up as a challenge to himself and to her defences, but he found that there was just too many. Much to his surprise, it seemed as though with every animal he took down, another would re-spawn. She had finally done it. He then exited her mind and smiled widely.

"Ginny, that was amazing! You even manage to keep re-spawning new animals to replace those that were defeated. Excellent!" Harry exclaimed.

"So, did I pass?" Ginny asked.

"You passed with flying colours. I almost hope that Dumbledore tries to attack your mind. He'll lose too much energy taking down your barriers, if he even can, then your army will eat him for dinner!" Harry answered with a massive grin on his face.

Harry and Ginny hugged after this and relaxed for the rest of the day to celebrate her achievement. He still advised her to keep adding to her defences, maybe even adding some traps into her barriers like he had, but he was confident that she was at a competent level and would be ready to delve into the art of Legilimency. However, considering how close September 1st was, they decided that they wouldn't start on this topic until they were at Hogwarts. At last, it seemed as though this was going to be a good year after all for Harry and Ginny. How wrong they were.


	21. Chapter 21: Problems on the Train

Chapter 21: Problems on the Train

With Ginny completing her Occlumency training, her and Harry had more time to just relax and spend time with each other properly for the rest of the summer. Thanks to everything that had happened over the course of the summer, the two friends had grown closer than ever before, exchanging stories about their childhood and comforting each other over the bad memories.

Sabrina had watched the two intently over the summer, what with being on Harry's person all of the time, and realised that the two had similar childhoods. Both had received abuse from family members who were supposed to love them. They both received physical, verbal and psychological abuse, yes, but the ratios were different. While Harry received more physical abuse, Ginny received more psychological abuse. Sabrina determined this as Harry never believed anything that the Dursleys said, nor did any of their words sink into him. Ginny, on the other hand, _did_ believe the things said to her as the words came from her brother and her own mother whom she had respected. Harry never respected the Dursleys and hated them with a passion, but Ginny still loved her brother and mother back then and even now to a certain extent.

Sabrina only had to look into Ginny's eyes long enough to see the pain, torment and insecurities that lay beneath the surface. She was glad that Harry picked up on the poor girl's pain as he had helped her to begin overcoming those memories and helped to disprove many of her brother's and mother's statements about her. She could only hope that Harry would realise just how important this girl was and would never let her go. Ginny was good for him as she kept him grounded.

Sabrina was then brought out of her thoughts as Harry got out of Mr Weasley's Ford Anglia with Ginny and the rest of the Weasleys. It was time to head back to Hogwarts at last. Everyone headed into King's Cross Station and they found the wall between Platforms 9 and 10 without a problem. Mr and Mrs Weasley went through with Ginny first to get her sorted, then Fred, George and Percy followed after them. It was only Harry and Ron left, but there was a problem. They couldn't get through. The barrier was closed for them.

"Why's the barrier closed?!" Ron exclaimed.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it's been closed by that elf who doesn't want me to go to Hogwarts this year. Elf magic seems to work differently to ours, so I wouldn't be surprised if he could manipulate the barrier somewhat to not allow us through," Harry theorised.

"Harry...if we can't get through, then maybe Mum and Dad can't get back," Ron suggested worriedly.

"Hopefully, they'll have realised and are getting someone to get the block removed," Harry said, trying to reassure Ron.

"It's 11 o'clock! The train is supposed to leave now! We've missed it!" Ron exclaimed.

"I highly doubt that they would just let it go without us, Ron. What, do you think they would just leave and drive the car home without trying to find you?" Harry asked.

"The car? That's it! We can drive the car to Hogwarts!" Ron exclaimed in happiness at what he thought was a great idea.

"And possibly get caught by countless muggles and risk being expelled? I don't think so. Let's just wait for your parents to get through. If the train has gone, then surely we can go back to the Burrow and get to Hogwarts via the Floo network safely," Harry responded.

"If you want to wait out here for however long, go ahead, but I'm going to make sure that I get to Hogwarts, Harry. See you at school, hopefully," Ron said before he ran back to the car.

Harry would've stopped Ron, if he actually cared about what might happen to him. Besides, if Ron got expelled or at least some detentions, then Harry would see less of that redhead and be able to spend more time with the redhead that mattered. It turned out that Harry was right to wait as Ginny and her parents appeared shortly after Ron left.

"Harry! Thank Merlin you're alright! We were worried sick!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed in fake happiness as she hugged Harry a little too tightly.

"I'm alright, Mrs Weasley. Though Ron might not be," Harry said, feeling nearly sick at the fake behaviour and crushing hug.

"Where is Ron, by the way?" Mr Weasley asked.

"He's taken the car to Hogwarts," Harry answered, putting on a hesitant tone.

"He's what?!" Mrs Weasley bellowed.

As Mrs Weasley began to rant, Mr Weasley gestured for Harry and Ginny to go through the wall. The duo did just that and Harry saw that the train was still there.

"Ron really should listen to me more. Your parents came as I said that they would and the train is still here. Though, I'm not complaining if his punishment involves seeing the idiot less," Harry told Ginny.

"Neither would I as it means that he won't try to interrupt us like he has been over the summer. At least the train ride won't be so bad now since he won't be on," Ginny said.

The duo got on the train and found Hermione in a compartment with Neville and a blonde girl that Harry had never seen before.

"Harry, this is Luna Lovegood. She's an old friend of mine from when we were younger," Ginny said.

"Hello, Harry Potter," Luna said wistfully as she held out a hand to Harry.

"Hello, Luna. It's a pleasure to meet you," Harry said, shaking Luna's hand.

The train ride went smoothly for a while, with the group just talking about their summers and plans for the year. However, the happy atmosphere was ruined when the compartment door was opened and Draco Malfoy was on the other side of the door frame with his goons.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here? Potty, Weaslette, Longbottom, the bookworm and Loony. Fancy having all of the worst people in the school in one compartment. The only way that it could be worse would be for Weasel to be in here. Where is he, by the way?" Malfoy sneered.

"No idea. Hopefully not in too much trouble, though," Harry replied, not rising to Malfoy's insults.

Malfoy wasn't too happy that Harry didn't bite, so he decided upon a different tactic. He would soon regret what he was able to say.

"Then again, you've not got him around to interrupt your time with your girlfriend now, do you Potter? She's not half bad, really. If she's sorted into the right house, I'm sure that we can persuade her to see the error of her ways. She is a pureblood, after all. No-one would object to helping her should she accept our offers," Malfoy said, licking his lips at the thought of corrupting and stealing Potter's girl.

"I wouldn't accept anything from you, even if my life depended on it," Ginny said, disgusted at Malfoy's insinuation.

"You'll find that we can be very persuasive, Weaslette," Malfoy sneered.

At this, Harry stood up and walked towards Malfoy. He said nothing, just walked forward. Malfoy was first smiling as he waited for Harry to blow up, but it didn't happen. The smile faded as Harry continued to walk towards him, forcing him to back up to the opposite wall. Harry merely stared into Malfoy's eyes, his eyes piercing into Malfoy's soul.

Eventually, Malfoy couldn't keep eye contact with Harry and looked away. He then began to walk away, with his goons following closely behind him. Harry merely smiled. The fear that he instilled in Malfoy did more than words ever would. Bullies only understood the language of fear, and Malfoy was no exception.

Harry turned around, closed the door and sat back down next to Ginny, who put a hand on his to calm him. The rest of them were in shock at how Harry silenced Malfoy so easily.

"You didn't even say anything to him and he went away...How did you do that?" Neville asked.

"Malfoy is a bully and those of his kind only understand one thing; fear. Malfoy has definitely made people afraid of him, but he forgot one fine detail; I'm not one of those people. I don't fear a pompous prat like him, nor will I ever. On the other hand, he fears me, but he isn't too bright either. If he was, he would stop trying to get a rise out of me by picking on Ginny," Harry explained coldly.

"You would've thought that your threat in Flourish and Blotts would've made him think before he talks," Ginny commented.

"What threat?" Neville asked.

"He insinuated that Ginny would get hurt. I debunked that. Hopefully, he realises that it's him who will get hurt," Harry explained.

Everyone got a distinct feeling from Harry. Don't mess with Ginny and you'll be alright. Knowing the truth about Ron, Mrs Weasley and Dumbledore, Hermione had a bad feeling about this year in regards to people meddling. The rest of the train ride was uneventful and everyone was finally able to relax. Ginny eventually fell asleep while resting on Harry's shoulder, something that Hermione immediately picked up on.

"I see that you two have gotten closer over the summer," Hermione teased.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked in confusion.

"You really don't get it, do you?" Hermione enquired out of curiosity.

"Get what?!" Harry exclaimed, getting irritable from Hermione's questioning.

"Never mind," Hermione sighed.

Thankfully, Harry merely raised an eyebrow before looking out of the window. Hermione, however, was still looking at the pair. She was no fool. She could see the look in Ginny's eyes when she looked at Harry. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he was oblivious to this look. He had likely seen it that much that he just passed over it now and chalked it up to friendly fondness. There was definitely something...different about the pair. Hermione could only wonder how long it would take for Harry to wise up to it.


	22. Chapter 22: Ginny's Sorting

Chapter 22: Ginny's Sorting and Ron's Punishment

Eventually, the train stopped at Hogwarts Station and everyone disembarked in their robes. Ginny and Luna had to go with the rest of the first years and Hagrid while Harry, Hermione and Neville went to the carriages. Before he left with the others, Harry reassured Ginny that everything would be fine. After a hug, he went after his year mates and let her go and catch up with Luna.

When they were in the carriages, Hermione and Neville noticed how on-edge Harry was. Somehow, Hermione had a feeling that, while he didn't express it out loud, he was worried about Ginny. When the current trio entered Hogwarts and sat at the Gryffindor table to wait for the first years, they noticed that Ron and Snape were absent. Harry could only think that Ron was likely caught after he landed and was being reprimanded by Snape at this very moment.

A few minutes later, the first years came through and were being led by McGonagall. Harry caught Ginny's eyes and he gave her a smile, which she returned with a smile of her own. Harry wasn't really interested in the Sorting, though he did smile at Luna when she looked over at him and his friends when she was sorted into Ravenclaw. Eventually, it came time for Ginny to be sorted as she was the last on the list this year.

Ginny sat on the stool and McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head. Harry watched intently as he could see the hat contemplating where to put her. He also saw how she seemed confused at whatever the hat was telling her before it eventually announced that she would belong in Gryffindor. The Gryffindor students cheered as she walked up to the table and sat down next to him.

Dumbledore then gave his yearly speech before letting the feast begin. As everyone began to dig in, Snape walked in and ushered for Dumbledore and McGonagall to follow him. It seemed as though Harry's assumption about Ron being caught might have been right after all. Snape gave a subtle nod in Harry's direction, indicating that they would need to talk later.

After the feast, the students all went to their respective common rooms, with Ginny going with the rest of the first years as her prefect brother Percy guided them around Hogwarts and Harry going to find a place to talk in private with Hermione. Once they were alone, they talked about Ron's likely predicament.

"I still can't believe that he would drive a flying car to school! What was he thinking?!" Hermione ranted.

"He likely wasn't, otherwise he would've listened to me. It doesn't really matter. The less I see of him the better," Harry said darkly.

"Harry! You've never said that before! What happened to keeping him close to keep up appearances?!" Hermione questioned.

"It's not my place to give the exact details. During the summer, as you know, I was at the Burrow. While I was there, I taught Ginny Occlumency," Harry answered.

"Really?!" Hermione exclaimed, "How?"

"I used Legilimency on her until I deemed her barriers to be strong enough," Harry replied.

"You used Legilimency on her?! But she's still a minor, Harry! Since you're emancipated, you could get into serious trouble!" Hermione exclaimed in horror.

"It was the only way to teach her as quickly as possible. Now that I think about it, you should probably start to learn Occlumency as well," Harry explained.

"I agree, but you're trying to change the topic. What does teaching Ginny Occlumency have to do with why you'd rather see Ron less?" Hermione questioned.

"As I said, I won't give exact details. All I will say is that the memories that I saw the first time I entered Ginny's mind were not pleasant. She had been trying to forget them for a while and they overwhelmed me enough that I couldn't get out of her mind. I would've done anything to spare her having to remember those moments, but I was trapped, just as she was. Trapped in her own mind," Harry answered sadly.

"That sounds horrible," Hermione said gloomily.

"I won't let them hurt her again. I need to be strong for her and if I can help her to grow stronger and protect herself, then I will do whatever I can," Harry said.

"You really care about her, don't you?" Hermione asked.

"She's my best friend. I know that she would do the same for me," Harry said bluntly.

"I've just thought, we should probably head to the common room now. The first years should be there by now and maybe Ron will be there too. Hopefully, we'll be able to find out what happened to him," Hermione said.

Harry agreed and the two went to the common room. Once inside, Ginny greeted them and gestured to Ron sulking in one of the couches.

"Hey Ron. I see that you got here alright," Harry said.

"Alright is one way of putting it," Ron grumbled.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Harry asked.

"The car seemed to get a mind of its own once I got to Hogwarts. It crashed into the Whomping Willow, my wand broke, then the car threw me out with my stuff once it got away from that stupid tree!" Ron ranted.

"We saw Snape take Dumbledore and McGonagall somewhere during the feast. That wouldn't have anything to do with you, would it?" Harry asked.

"Filch found me and took me to Snape. The greasy git seemed more concerned with muggles seeing me and the damned tree than me! I tried to tell him about the barrier being closed, but he didn't believe me! Then he fetched Dumbledore and McGonagall and, while he was going to expel me, they just gave me detentions every week until the end of term. It could've been worse, but Mum's going to kill me," Ron explained.

"I did suggest waiting. Your parents and Ginny got through after a while and they kept the train at the station for us, so I was able to get on the train just fine," Harry said.

"Really?! Damn it!" Ron exclaimed angrily.

"Don't be like that, Ron. As you said, it could've been worse," Ginny said playfully.

"But the howlers from Mum could've been avoided after all!" Ron exclaimed.

"Howlers?" Harry asked, looking at Ginny for the answer.

"A howler is a letter that speaks in your voice. One is usually used for ranting. My mum is apparently very skilled with creating one," Ginny answered.

"Oh! So it's like a voice recorder from the muggle world. Interesting," Harry said.

Ron was a grump for the rest of the conversation and wasn't really present as the girls tried to talk to him and Harry. Eventually, Ron went up to his dormitory and Hermione went to hers to give Harry and Ginny time to talk alone.

"Come on, Ginny," Harry said, walking towards the exit.

"Where are we going?" Ginny asked as she followed Harry.

"To see Snape. He indicated that we needed to talk during the feast," Harry replied.

"Do you think that he'll be alright with me coming along?" Ginny enquired, unsure of herself.

"'m sure that everything will be fine. Besides, I can always tells him about your Occlumency training if he's unsure," Harry answered honestly.

"If you say so, Harry," Ginny said.

Harry and Ginny made their way to the dungeons and were careful not to get caught by any of the professors. Harry didn't need anyone blabbing to Dumbledore about him sneaking around the castle for unknown reasons. When the duo got to Snape's office, Harry quickly pulled Ginny behind a wall as he noticed a shadow come out. The shadow belonged to Draco Malfoy, who looked around shiftily before walking away to the Slytherin common room.

Once Malfoy was out of sight, Harry and Ginny entered Snape's office and found him sitting at his desk with a hand rubbing his forehead as he seemed to be pondering something.

"Professor? Are you alright?" Harry asked.

"Oh! Potter! Don't sneak up on people like that!" Snape exclaimed, looking up in shock.

"Sorry, Professor," Harry said.

"Who's your friend?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Ginny.

"Ah, where are my manners. This is Ginny Weasley. We've been friends since last September 1st, but she was only 10. We were corresponding by letters last year until we were finally able to talk face-to-face," Harry explained.

"Is she trustworthy?" Snape enquired.

"I trust her with my life, Professor. She knows everything," Harry replied.

"If you don't mind, I would like to test your mental defences first, Miss Weasley," Snape said.

"As you wish, Professor," Ginny responded.

Snape entered Ginny's mind and was pleased with what he saw. It seemed as though Harry had taught his friend well and she had made good defences. He didn't stay inside long and exited her mind after only a minute.

"I must commend your work, Miss Weasley. These are exceptional defences," Snape praised.

"I had a good teacher," Ginny said, smiling at Harry.

"Well, now that everything is sorted, what did you want to tell me, Professor?" Harry enquired.

"As I'm sure that you are aware, your friend's brother caused a lot of problems today," Snape said.

"Yes, dear old Ronald didn't seem to care much for possibly breaking many laws with flying that car," Harry commented.

"Yes. He was seen by no less than seven muggles, nearly damaged the Whomping Willow beyond repair due to its age, and broke his wand out of anger because the car malfunctioned and wouldn't listen to him. He should have really been expelled, but Dumbledore and McGonagall had the final say on the matter. I take it that you already know of his punishment?" Snape explained.

"I bet that he forgot that the car had an invisibility setting and yes, he told us of his detentions," Ginny answered.

"McGonagall was trying to be nice to one of her lions, but Dumbledore didn't seem too happy with him either way. I think that they probably had a private chat afterwards considering how he was following beside Dumbledore while McGonagall left on her own," Snape explained.

"That could explain his bad mood in the common room. It seemed as though it was more than just the detentions that got him so annoyed," Harry said.

"I wouldn't doubt that. Now, is there anything that you wish to ask me?" Snape enquired.

"Yes, actually. When we were coming down, we saw Draco come out of your office. What was he talking to you about?" Harry asked.

"Well, Draco Malfoy is actually my godson. He comes in every so often to just talk, usually about how he hates you and how you're so perfect. I swear, he's taken on too many of his father's traits for his own good. Poor Narcissa had hardly any say in teaching their son, but he wouldn't have been so pompous and arrogant if she did," Snape explained.

"I met Lucius in Diagon Alley. He certainly made an impression, but not a good one," Harry said.

"Lucius has that effect on people, it seems. Now, that's not the important thing at the moment. You need to be warned," Snape said.

"Warned? Why?" Harry asked.

"Draco told me that his father had a plan for this year and that it would begin to make everything right. He said that something big is going to happen. You need to be prepared for it should it happen," Snape warned.

"That's funny. Before I got to Hogwarts, a house elf named Dobby warned me of something terrible happening this year and tried to stop me from coming," Harry explained.

"Dobby is the Malfoy's house elves. He's a kind soul, but is badly beaten by Lucius for even the smallest thing going wrong whether it's his fault or not. If he's also warning you, then what Draco told me is likely true. You need to be especially careful this year, Potter. And you too, Miss Weasley," Snape explained.

"I understand, Professor," Harry said.

"If that is all, then you are dismissed. I'm sure that your housemates are wondering where you are by now," Snape said.

"Thank you, sir," Harry said.

"Goodnight, Professor," Ginny said.

Harry and Ginny exited Snape's office and made their way back to the common room.

"So, what do you think the Malfoys are planning?" Ginny asked.

"The most obvious thing is getting rid of me. How? I'm not sure, but I wouldn't put it past them to use any nefarious means necessary. You need to be careful as well. Malfoy will likely try to get to me through you once he learns of our friendship. Don't touch or use anything that is given to you by anyone not trustworthy and if you find anything suspicious, then tell me and I'll sort it out. I won't have my friends hurt because of a pathetic schoolboy grudge," Harry explained.

Ginny thought back to Tom's diary. Should she tell Harry about it? Was it truly odd that a magical diary could talk back to her?

'Tom's not dangerous, though. He's been nothing but kind to me ever since I started to write in the diary. There's no way that the Malfoys could ever make anything that could be so nice. Nicety is completely beyond what their little brains can process,' Ginny thought.

"Will do, Harry," Ginny said, deciding to keep the diary a secret for now.

Eventually, the two made their way to the common room and said their goodbyes before they went to their respective dormitories. Once alone, Harry decided to talk to Sabrina about something that he noticed.

 _~Did you think that Ginny was hiding something back then? She just went silent for a while after I told her not to touch anything suspicious and had a pensive expression on her face~_ Harry asked.

 _~She was probably just trying to think about whether there was anything to tell you about already. However, you best keep an eye on her. If she is hiding something, then it's not because of some nefarious purpose, but that she likely doesn't know of the danger she is in. If she starts to act out of the ordinary, you must react fast~_ Sabrina answered.

 _~I hope that the former is the correct reason~_ Harry said.

Harry then got ready for bed and he and Sabrina fell asleep. A fitful night's sleep graced Harry tonight as he dreamt of the Malfoys, Molly, Ron and Dumbledore torturing Ginny, all while he was prone and unable to move. Useless. Weak. Pathetic.


End file.
